As Easy as ABC
by IReadAndWriteSometimes
Summary: Taking some of our favorite characters on a journey of one-shots through the alphabet. It might turn into a bumpy ride, but I'll return them home safely the moment we hit Z, I promise.
1. A

_**I'm bored out of my mind. Having no obligations till mid January means I have waaay too much free time on my hands. So one of my ways of filling it is writing. A friend suggested this ABC thingy, so I'm giving it a shot.**_

 _ **Some updates will just be random scenes fitting nowhere in particular, but I think a lot of them will tie in to some episodes. Either way I'll try to keep them in canon, so none of them will go beyond the events of 5x13. But I think it's safe to expect some silliness and experimentation that just might seem a bit AU.**_

 ** _So here's the A! Do tell me what you think of it? :)_**

* * *

An Acquired Taste

They were in the middle of dessert, indulging in a piece of triple chocolate cake. Chocolate cake wasn't often on the menu of Sharon Raydor, but tonight was a special occasion. It's been exactly one year since they had last been here. Andy had been jumping through hoops working doubly hard to get their latest case out of their way so they could enjoy their evening.

He was so eager that at one point, a very irritated Provenza had taken Andy aside to interrogate him in what he believed was a very hushed voice.

 _"What the hell is the matter with you today?!" It was not a hushed voice. It was more of a yell actually._

 _"What's with the yelling?" Andy asked, looking around, as if to see who was there to witness what he knew would be an argument. The rest of the team had been sent out and Sharon was in her office behind closed doors, so it was just the two of them, standing in front of Mike's desk. "And nothing's wrong with me," he shot in answer to the older man's question as he settled his gaze back on him._

 _"Of course not," Provenza replied in a sarcastic scoff, throwing his hands in the air. "You've been busting our chops over this case!" He pointed a hand at the Captain. "Not even she does that, and_ she _'s the_ boss _." And before Andy could even think of a response, he continued more calmly, "So, I ask again," he pointed a finger at Andy, "what the hell is the matter with you?" he almost hissed the question._

 _Andy threw his hands in the air and shrugged. "Nothing's the matter," he rolled his eyes at his partner and was glad to have managed to not yell back. "I just have plans and don't want them ruined by another bout of overtime!"_

 _If Andy hadn't been this defensive, Provenza might have even let it go. Instead he pressed on, the hand pointing at Andy now falling angrily to his side, "What on earth can be so important that yo-" he cut himself off. "Are you off your meds? Or is it Nicole?" he suddenly asked, narrowing his eyes at Andy. "Because the last time you were this strange-" he cut himself off again and all of a sudden his eyes widened in horror. "It's about the Captain!" he accused pointing his finger at Andy again._

 _"It's not about Sharon! I mean, it's-" Andy held up his hands in defense, voice going up as he stumbled over his words._

 _But Provenza wasn't paying attention, instead he took a step toward Andy as if to get into his face despite their obvious height difference, and interrupted him. "What the hell did you do?" This time he really did whisper._

 _"What?!" Andy was thrown completely and for a split second he looked at his partner in confusion. He shook his head at him and folded his arms across his chest. "I didn't do anything!" he said, annoyance coating his words now. He took a breath and lifted a hand in front of Provenza, "Look, it's our anniversary. You know, Serve?" He gave the older Lieutenant a questioning look._

 _"So what?" Provenza was still agitated, so it took a moment for it to dawn on him. "Oh, you have plans." The surprise on his face was almost comical._

 _"Yeah," Andy confirmed, dropping his hands to his sides now._

 _Provenza looked around, looking for something. He found a folder on the table to his right and pushed it into Andy's chest. "Then get back to work and stop talking about it!"_

 _Andy clumsily clutched the folder before it could fall to the floor when Provenza let go of it. "Okay," he said carefully drawing his brows together in another display of confusion. "Wait," he suddenly yelled at the man still standing in front of him, "you" he pointed a finger at Provenza, "started talking about this!"_

 _Provenza simply shook his head and walked back to his desk. "Oh, just stop being such a pain in my ass," he mumbled, leaving a dumbfounded, and annoyed, Andy behind._

So here they were at Serve, sharing a piece of cake because, in Sharon's opinion, it was big enough for four people, plus, it always seemed just a little bit sweeter to have someone to share it with rather than to eat it all on her own.

They were quiet, and for the first time that evening. Despite the rather intimate atmosphere the secluded spot of their table and the dim light of candles provided, up until then, they were having a rather animated conversation. Slightly raised voices, wild gesticulations and open laughter drew a look or two (or five) from the guests nearby, but it hadn't bothered either of them. Much. Sharon, of course, had offered them an apologetic smile once or twice, but other than that they were thoroughly enjoying their private little bubble of just them. No work, no rules (except maybe basic manners), no Rusty, no Provenza, just them.

"You know," Andy broke the silence while she was in the middle of chewing through another bite of the cake. He waited a moment for her to look at him before continuing. His hand held his fork was in his mouth and he seemed to be thinking about something and looked as if he had just figured it out. "You're somewhat of an acquired taste." He said pulling the fork out and aiming it at Sharon. His tone of voice sounded as if he had just told her something as obvious as the color of the sky.

She swallowed and her eyes widened for a second in surprise before she narrowed them at Andy in an attempt to decide how to take his words. Having not come to a conclusion right away, she raised an eyebrow and inquired in a calm voice that warned him to thread carefully, "An acquired taste?"

But Andy just shrugged, meeting her eyes, and cheerfully replied, "Yeah." He took another bite of the cake, not a care in the world. "I mean five-six years ago..." he trailed off as if the sentence was self explanatory. He was completely oblivious to her reaction.

She took another forkful of cake with deliberate care, drawing it to her mouth with eyes fixed on it, thinking hard about what to say. "Oh," she suddenly let out on a surprised laugh, as she realized what he meant. "I get it," she added, more to herself than him, but Andy heard her anyway.

"What's there to get?" he asked in surprise. "Wait," he dropped his fork on the plate, the hand that held it splaying across the tabletop, and narrowed her eyes at her, "what did you think I meant?"

"Nothing," she said in her usual smooth and leveled voice, but when Andy cocked his head and pierced a look through her, she realized she might have said it just a tad too quickly. Before he could gear up to ask another question though, her free hand landed on top of his in a gentle caress, and she added with a genuine smile on her lips, "As are you, Andy."

Truthfully, she wasn't sure what prompted her rather defensive reaction to his statement. For now she was just glad to have given Andy a chance to further elaborate before any of what she knew would only be treacherous thoughts, could form.

Andy pushed his own suspicions aside and returned her smile. "Yeah, the two of us sitting here like this," he trailed off again, stroking a thumb over the skin between her thumb and forefinger, before pulling his hand out from beneath hers to take hold of his fork again so he could indulge in another bite of the cake. "Never saw that coming," he added after he swallowed.

"Me neither," she replied around a bite of her own. There was a wistful edge to her words, making Andy prompt her with a non-committal "Yeah."

"I don't mind though," she added playfully, another smile playing at her lips as she looked at him.

He barked a laugh, and letting go of his fork again, covered her hand that was still on the table with his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Oh, trust me, I don't either," he assured her through another surge of happy laughter.

She moved the fork for another bite of cake when instead, she dropped it in surrender on the plate. "You know what?" He quirked an eyebrow at her in response. "I'm full," she confessed on a laugh.

"Yeah, me, too," he said. "Wanna get out of here?" he asked with what she believed was a mischievous raise of an eyebrow even if he was giving her a hopeful look, too, leaning back in his chair and resting his other hand on his belly.

She clasped her hands together, leaning back into her own chair, a broad smile on her face. "Definitely."

They took care of the bill and, once Andy helped her slip into her coat, he grabbed ahold of her hand and together they made their way out of the restaurant.

When they reached the passenger door of his car, he kissed her happy to feel her smile as she kissed him back. When they moved apart, he said, in a low voice, "You know, I'm really glad I got to acquire a taste for you." He didn't really know what had her so surprised back at the restaurant, but he felt he needed to point this out to her.

She smiled in that beautiful way of hers, just barely showing teeth, eyes crinkling behind her glasses. "Me too," she said before placing another lingering kiss on his lips.

"Good," he smiled as they pulled apart. "Now, get in, please," he suddenly ushered her almost impatiently into the car. When he closed the door he nearly ran to his side of the car.

When he got in she gave him an amused look. "What's gotten into you?" The pitch of her voice was slightly higher as her amused surprise seeped into it.

He looked at her, pulling on his seatbelt, and huffed an exasperated question of his own, "Why does everyone think I'm being strange today?"

She just raised both her eyebrows, a smile threatening to explode on her face. "I don't think you're strange," she told him calmly, fighting hard to keep from smiling. "Although," her voice went up, "now that you mention it, I have to ask," she couldn't keep the smile off her face anymore and it spread widely over her features as she folded her arms and turned to slant him a better look, "am I wrong?"

He returned her look with one of his own, a rather unimpressed one at that. "I'm just a guy looking forward to celebrating with his girlfriend." His eyes danced in hidden laughter when she only barely managed not to cringe. Even a year later, she still found the title of girlfriend an awkward one. "How is that strange?" he continued, shrugging his shoulders innocently.

"I wouldn't know," she answered smoothly. When he made no move to get the car going, but instead kept looking at her as if challenging her, she adjusted her seatbelt, without looking away from him. "Do you plan on celebrating in the car," a wide smile appeared on his face, and when she continued without even noticing her innuendo, it turned into a smirk, "or will you finally get a move on?"

At that, he adopted an utterly smug look, and he quirked an eyebrow at her. "Well, I could do both," he said, almost as smoothly as she had spoken earlier.

All within a second a frown of confusion formed on her face which was quickly replaced by a fractional widening of her eyes as realization set in. Rather than gracing him with a retort, she leaned in to kiss the smugness off his face. "Drive, please," she ordered, purposefully ignoring his still smug face as she leaned back into her seat, readjusting the seatbelt, this time looking away from him and in front of her instead.

He leaned over the console, stopping close to her cheek. "You sure?" he asked, a raspy quality to his voice now. He was enjoying this too much.

She turned to look at him. There was a broad happy smile on his face, and she couldn't help but smile as well. He could be such a child sometimes. She put her hands on his cheeks, holding his face in place, barely an inch away from hers. "Yes, I am sure." she sealed her words with another kiss.

"Okay, may I then?" he asked still smiling when she pulled away. He pointedly looked at her arms whose hands were still clutching his face.

She loosened her grip on him, not letting go just yet, and simply said, "Yes," not the least bit bothered about having forgotten to let go of him right away. Only then did she finally started dropping her hands.

Andy, however said, "Okay," and before she could completely pull both herself and her hands away, he quickly leaned in to give her another peck on the lips.

By the time she caught up with his movement, he was already busy starting the car. She just looked at him as he moved the car out of its parking space striking up a conversation as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Where were they more than 5 years ago, she wondered later that night.

And now they were here, in bed, contentedly wrapped in each other's arms as they were both drifting off to sleep. An acquired taste indeed, she thought, a smile crossing her face. She tugged on his hands and he gave in to her unvoiced demand and wrapped his arms more securely around her. A last thought crossed her mind before sleep took over; Andy may be an acquired taste, but _not_ having him beside her now, _that_ _thought alone_ she'd never be able to stomach.


	2. B

**_Aaww, you guys are awesome, thanks for the reviews! Btw, I hope you won't mind that not all scenes are going to be Shandy related. I love those two, but I love the other characters, too! :)_**

 ** _This one is a short missing scene in 2x01. Nothing fancy, just a little something I wish we'd have seen on screen._**

* * *

Beat about the bush

When, after dealing with Ashley Elliot, the Captain retreated to her office, he took his chance to inform her of Rusty's idea, _his idea_ that is.

He took a deep breath and knocked on her door. A moment later, after her soft "Yes?" he let himself in. He closed the door behind him and once he made his way to stop behind the chairs in front of her desk, he curtly nodded and said, "Captain." He was painfully aware of his own stalling and almost timid demeanor.

She gave him a questioning look, "Is there something you need, Lieutenant?"

He put a hand on the back of one of the chairs and looked at it for a moment before meeting her gaze. "It's about Rusty."

Her eyebrows rose and, now even more confused, inquired, "What about Rusty?"

When he registered the way her voice shook ever so slightly, instantly worried that something was wrong, he quickly added, "Emma Rios." He took his hand back and let it fall to his side. "Will you be present during the interview?" He tried to sound more casual than truly inquisitive, but when she scooted her chair closer to her desk, as if to brace herself, he realized he had failed.

"Of course I will," her voice raised slightly in what he interpreted as defensiveness, but when she continued, it lowered to her usual smooth, low timbre, "I am Rusty's legal guardian."

"Ah," he nodded and this time he walked around one of the chairs and flopped into it, "and Rusty still doesn't wanna talk to her?" He intertwined the fingers of his hands in his lap to keep them from fiddling.

This time she sighed. "I haven't talked to him about it since last night, but I think so, yes."

He bit the inside of his cheek and cocked his head to look at her. He carefully considered his next words. She could be intimidating in her role as Captain, but let her slip into mother mode and she could be downright terrifying. "Have you considered not attending the interview?" He gave himself a mental pat on the back when his voice managed to remain neutral.

"No," she said firmly, not a hint of doubt in her voice. "I do not appreciate DDA Rios's approach," she added.

Her face turned to stone, but if Provenza had to guess he'd say it wasn't a look of impassiveness. Definitely not. She was pissed off.

A suspect might have flinched at the dangerous glare slowly forming on her face, but she wasn't angry with him, after all, so he went on. "You know what she's going to ask, Captain."

She gave him a look that all but screamed, "Of course I know."

"And don't you think he will be uncomfortable answering those questions as it is," he paused a beat, long enough to notice the shadow of sadness that replaced her glare, "and even more so with someone else there?"

How she figured it out, he will never know. Maybe his beat about the bush approach gave him away, he thought. "You talked to Rusty," she said suddenly. There was no accusation in her words, but one of the hands that had been neatly folded in her lap, now landed on top of her desk as she leaned forward.

He rolled his eyes and just admitted to it with a simple "Yes."

"And he said he would talk to her?" she pressed on, obviously more surprised at that revelation than at the other one.

"He did, but-" he started, leaning forwards in his chair but she interrupted him, "He doesn't want me there." She was looking behind the Lieutenant now, at nothing in particular.

He merely nodded. When he noticed the sheen of tears in her eyes he mentally groaned. He hated seeing her all worked up like that. She used to be the intrepid Captain of FID for crying out loud. "Look, Captain," she refocused her gaze on him, "he doesn't want us to hear all the gory details." He shrugged his shoulders, "It's as simple as that."

She blinked her tears away and nodded. When she spoke her voice gave none of her emotions away. "He doesn't want you there either?" Only the slight quirk of one of her eyebrows hinted at her surprise.

He straightened in his chair. "No, he doesn't." And if he was completely honest with himself, he didn't exactly like it either. But if that's what it took to get the kid talking, then so be it. Besides, if Rios started pushing him around, Rusty could handle himself. If in no other way than by storming out of the room.

She looked away again and he worried she was still not convinced. "He's standing up for himself, Captain," he offered, getting to his feet. "He can handle it," he repeated his inner conclusion, starting to walk toward the door.

When he reached it, he turned around and noticed the way her mouth quirked up towards a small smile, of pride, he guessed, and when she spoke her voice was much softer than before. "I can see that. But with Emma Rios," she shook her head still looking away from him, as if lost in thought, and sighed, "I don't know if he's ready to deal with her alone."

He made a noise that was something in between a scoff and a bark of laughter. "I think that's Rusty's call, Captain, not yours."

She looked up at that and smiled again, "I think you're right, Lieutenant." She nodded for emphasis.

He opened the door and rolled his eyes, "I've been trying to tell you that for a year now." He gave her one last look just in time to see her funny shrug of shoulders and the smile that crossed her lips then. He nearly smiled as well, she could be so-, he cut the thought short. No, she was Captain Sharon Raydor, and that was it.

She returned her focus to whatever pile of folders she had on her desk. "Thank you, Lieutenant," she told him with a touch of both amusement and finality.

"Not my idea, Captain," he mumbled and walked out.

* * *

 _ **I couldn't settle on a word, "she could be so" what? Adorable? Cute? Dorky? Weird? Strange? Quirky?**_

 ** _Take your pick!_**


	3. C

Crap

Andy looked at the scene in front of him, waiting for some sign to indicate whether to hide under his desk or burst out laughing. Letting his eyes wander over the rest of his team, all but Buzz seated at their desks, he realized he was not the only one facing that particular dilemma.

Tao's eyebrows shot up above the rims of his glasses, he looked between the couple at the desk and then his eyes, too, roamed the murder room. When they met Andy's, he mouthed "Crap."

Julio seemed to have taken less than a second to decide that laughing was the best option. He had noticed Tao's mouthed word and it sent him into a silent, shoulder shaking laughter.

Amy's eyes were wide. Even Amy knew better than that, Andy thought, his eyes settling on the duo in front of him. She had blinked, and, worried about being caught staring, quickly let her eyes drop to a file in front of her.

Buzz was the last to notice. He had been busy pulling out a piece of paper out of the printer, but when he turned around, he stopped in his tracks and shot a questioning look at no one in particular, completely forgetting why he needed the piece of paper he was now holding in the first place.

Sharon's voice shook him out of his reverie, "Buzz?" she asked, turning her head to look at him and holding out a hand.

"What? Oh, here, Captain," Buzz walked around Provenza's desk and handed her the sheet.

"Thank you," she told him kindly, apparently oblivious to the man's odd behavior.

Andy slanted a look at Provenza and what he saw almost had him burst into laughter.

The Captain had been talking, bouncing ideas off the team about their latest case. She had asked for some information that Tao gladly printed out for her, and Buzz, being closest to the printer, retrieved it for her. In the meantime, however, she had moved from standing in front of the murder board to leaning with her back toward Provenza against his desk. And just like that, none of her team members paid any more attention to whatever she was saying; and she seemed not to notice, now busy looking into the newly acquired information; but instead focused on the Lieutenant next to her.

Provenza was staring intently at the back of the Captain's head, now bent over the piece of paper in her hand. He seemed shocked into paralysis, having even stopped his absentminded tapping of fingers against his desk, but after a moment, he blinked and carefully let his now narrowed eyes follow a path down her neck and back, until they settled on the edge of his desk against which the Captain was casually leaning. They grew wider as he took in the scene and the way he seemed to expand with what Andy assumed was anger, had him fight for composure.

The Captain seemed to have asked a question and judging by her slightly raised voice as she said "Anyone?" none of them had heard it.

Oddly enough, Provenza was the one to reply. Tearing his gaze away from the edge of his desk, he mumbled an annoyed, "Yeah, we'll look into it." He waved a hand at her as if to say, "We're not new at this."

Into what, Andy couldn't say, but the Captain seemed satisfied with the response and pushed off Provenza's desk and, before walking back into her office, gave him a "Thank you."

The moment she lost contact with his desk, Provenza started brushing off imaginary dirt, a frown firmly set on his face.

The moment the rest of them heard the Captain's office door close, they broke out in laughter.

"Don't," Provenza pointed a finger at Andy, without gracing him with a look, when he noticed him approaching from over his desk.

"Don't what?" Andy asked innocently once he reached his partner.

The laughter died down and the rest of the team seemed to be getting back to work, but Andy was sure their ears were still perked up.

"I don't want to talk about it," Provenza mumbled. Having finished cleaning the imaginary dirt, he now reached for the folder in front of him, stubbornly not meeting his partner's gaze.

"But _we_ do," Andy said simply, a grin spreading over his face as he waved a hand, indicating their fellow team members, who were laughing quietly again.

Provenza shot them a glare, but Andy pressed on. "When _I_ do this," he leaned against Provenza's desk to demonstrate, although, unlike their Captain, he was using his hands for leverage, "you bite my head off."

Provenza angrily pushed Andy's hands off his desk. "Stop it or I'll bite your hands off, too." He practically barked the threat.

Andy straightened up and folded his arms, completely unimpressed. "She finally won you over, didn't she?" Judging by the smirk on his face, it wasn't _really_ a question.

Provenza just scoffed, returning his attention to his folder. "I'm tolerating her," he explained.

"She got you," Tao suddenly quipped from over his desk, making Provenza's head snap up in his direction. He was busy typing on his computer but had obviously been listening.

"She did," Julio added through a chuckle, turning his focus to his own computer. Provenza didn't even bother looking at him, but merely rolled his eyes.

But when Amy spoke up, he pinned her with an exasperated look, "I think this is a good thing, sir," she was looking at him, addressing him in that carefree almost naive way of hers. "All this fighting can't be good for your health, sir," she added, before letting her eyes drop onto the file in front of her again. Andy couldn't tell if she was pulling Provenza's chain on purpose or not, but she did not participate in the fit of laughter she sent the rest of the team into.

When Buzz opened his mouth, Provenza quickly interrupted him. "Enough," he punctuated the word by shaking a finger at the younger man. Buzz reluctantly closed his mouth and shrugged, before making his way to Tao; they had some footage to go over.

"Tolerating her," Andy repeated, mocking his partner. By the time he sat behind his desk he was laughing again.

"Go back to work, Flynn!" Provenza yelled at him, loudly enough to get the Captain's attention. Her head snapped up to look for the source of the commotion.

Provenza, who returned to his own pile of work, fortunately, didn't notice her.

For if he had, the smile, or was it a smirk, that graced his Captain's face, would surely have given her away.


	4. D

Dinner

She had been looking forward to this all day.  
Even if he may have had a double agenda the first time, she still got a warm fuzzy feeling at the memory of their first homemade breakfast. He had made not only an effort to _make_ breakfast but to actually sit down with her to eat it. It happened more often now, as their relationship improved and he started trusting her more. And it was nice sharing a homemade meal with someone, it had been a while since she indulged in that. And now it seemed long overdue that she did something in return.

It wasn't that she couldn't cook. As tempting as it may have sounded at the time, she did not raise two children on take out food. But then again, back then, she had a job with much more regular hours and she most certainly did not have the responsibilities which came with the rank of Captain. Back then work had allowed her to make a point of having at least dinner with her children, with only the occasional rain check. Now there were more rain checks than any kind of dinners. She still cooked, albeit much less frequently than she would have liked, only they never ate _together_. Well, they sometimes ate take out together, breakfast now, too, but never a _homemade dinner_. Today, however, that would change. Hopefully, it would be the first of many more to come.

It had been a light work day of mostly paperwork and budget meetings. She had even managed to stop by the store during lunch hour to pick up some of the ingredients for her upcoming dinner. When she finally punched out, she felt like doing a happy dance on her way out of the building. But of course, she did not give in to that feeling and instead bid her team her usual goodbye, gracefully taking her leave.

* * *

He came home around 6 pm to the delicious smell of her cooking. He disposed of his things next to the front door and made his way into the kitchen. "Wow, Sharon, that smells really nice." Her back was turned to him, she was busy chopping something, and he craned his neck to take a peek. "What are you making?"

"Hello to you, too," she scorned him, but only halfheartedly, if the smile on her face was anything to go by. "Something healthy," she teased and when he groaned, she just laughed in response.

"Why does it smell so good then?" he asked in disbelief, now checking out the grill pan on the stove. "Is that fish?" She couldn't see his face but she could picture him wrinkle his nose in disgust.

She turned around, having put her salad ingredients into a see through glass bowl. "I am looking forward to dinner with you, Mister," she said pointedly, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

He took the hint and took a step back. In truth, he looked forward to it, too. Even if things were still somewhat awkward between them, they had made progress, he had to admit. Eating together more often started feeling more natural, too.

"And yes, that's fish," she informed him, placing the bowl on the already set dining table. "Salmon actually," she added, returning to the stove to check on said fish. "And Greek salad," she indicated the salad bowl with a nod of her head.

His face however, remained glued to the table. She had it all made up; plates, cutlery, glasses, napkins. "When did you get home?" He was used to her long, erratic work days and he knew she couldn't have whipped all this up if she had come home as late as she mostly did, which, now that he thought about it, was sometimes even later than 6 pm. And she also had time to change. She was standing there in a pair of dark jeans and an orange sweater.

"It was a slow day," she said happily, shrugging her shoulders. "You hungry?" she asked, now busy getting the salmon out of the pan.

"Starving," he admitted, debating whether to just sit down at the table or offer to help. He had learned a lot about her though in these past months so, knowing she would appreciate the thought, he decided to ask, "Do you need help?"

"Oh, no," she waved him off. "Go, change and take a seat." She quirked an eyebrow, "My treat, so I'm doing the work."

When he just remained standing; he was still not used to her easy kindnesses; she waved her hand at him again. "Go, now," she playfully ordered. When he finally turned toward the living room, she added, "Don't forget your things next to the door." He groaned, how could she know he left them there, she couldn't even see them?

* * *

By the time he returned she had already taken a seat at the table and was eagerly waiting for him.

"So," he started, taking a seat next to her, "you always make this big a deal out of dinner?" She really didn't, but she had specifically asked him to make sure he'd be home in time for dinner tonight, and he wondered what that was about.

She gave him an impassive look, purposefully ignoring his sarcasm. "I don't cook often anymore, but contrary to your beliefs," she gave him a knowing look, "I can cook."

He looked down at his plate. "I know," he returned his gaze to her, "it's not the first time you've cooked, Sharon."

"It's not," she returned his gaze. "But we don't often do this," she waved a hand between them, voice softening somewhat. "Family dinners," she clarified, when he gave her a puzzled look.

He doubted he'd ever wrap his head around the way family, and him in it, seemed to be just so simple for her.

She noticed he drifted for a moment, probably guessing where his thoughts went, too. "We share an occasional breakfast," she pinned him with a look, "that you make. And take-out." She shrugged, "Besides, dinners, especially homemade ones, always taste better in good company."

She did it again. It was just so _normal_ for her to include him. "I guess, but I really don't mind, Sharon," he said sheepishly.

"Well, I do," she said simply, grabbing hold of her fork and knife. "And I thought a family dinner was long overdue anyway," she offered him a smile.

"I should complain to Cynthia," he suddenly said, dead serious, looking into the distance as if pondering something. "You not eating with me, that must be some kind of, I don't know, violation of foster rules or something."

He started laughing when she just said "Not funny." He didn't notice the small, content smile playing at her lips. "Although I have to admit I should have lived up to this part of foster parenting a long time ago," she added.

"Wait," his head snapped back to look at her, "there are rules about _family dinners_?"

She actually laughed at him. She didn't give him a straight answer. "I simply think this is a reminder of who the legal guardian," she took great care to not let the word 'parent' or worse, 'mother', slip past her lips, "in this relationship is."

"Oh, God, another lesson?" he groaned. "Really, Sharon?" he gave her an exasperated look.

Before she could answer though, her phone rang, immediately wiping the smile off her face. She got up to fetch it from the coffee table where she had left it earlier. When she saw Lieutenant Provenza's name on the screen, she sighed unhappily and answered the phone.

Rusty looked over his chair at her and when she hung up and turned around, he asked, "Got a case?"

"Yes," she said sadly, "there goes our family dinner." She waved the hand that was still holding the phone at the table behind Rusty.

He actually felt disappointed. He would not admit it to her, not yet, but her effort filled him with an unexpected, but not at all unwelcome, feeling of warmth. And maybe something else, but he was nowhere close to being ready to face _that_ feeling.

"Don't worry about it," he said trying to sound understanding.

And he did understand, but she must have caught on to his disappointment because she approached him, and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "I am really sorry, Rusty," her voice took an apologetic note he rarely ever heard from her.

"I know," and before the sudden sadness that swept over him, not only at the words, but at her gesture as well, could make an outward appearance, he added, "I'll take care of this," he waved a hand at their dinner, "you can have some leftovers when you get home."

"Okay," she said after a moment of studying him, "I," she looked around, "should go change," and made for her bedroom.

He thought she might have wanted to say something else but he shrugged it off and started eating dinner. It really was delicious.

Her "Taste good?" startled him. He hadn't heard her. When he turned around, mouth full of food, he just nodded at her, already busy slipping into shoes and grabbing her jacket. He was not in the mood for another lesson about talking with one's mouth full and didn't even try to let out proper words.

She smiled at him, she pulled her hair out from underneath the collar of the jacket she had put on. "I'm off," she opened the door. "Be-"

"Safe," he finished the sentence for her, mouth no longer full of food.

"Yes," she nodded and smiled at him again. "Bye," she said before walking through the door and closing it behind her.

"Bye," he told the now shut door.

* * *

 ** _This is set somewhere between season 1 and 2. In case you were wondering. Maybe it's a bit over the top, but meh, I tried. :D_**

 ** _Btw, thanks for the reviews on the previous chapters! :)_**


	5. E

Evil

He was sitting in one of the chairs in front of her desk and watching her. She had a few more papers to go over before she, too, like the rest of the team, would call it a day. They didn't have any plans for the night; she wanted to take a look at the video of the house alone with Rusty; but considering the rather tumultuous day he felt he had had, he figured he'd stick around so they could leave together, _and_ so that he could check how deep a hole he had dug himself into.

They sat there in silence for maybe 10 minutes, Sharon shuffling her papers every now and then and Andy taking turns with either watching her or fiddling with his phone. Normally, if he was waiting up on her like this, they'd still talk about one thing or another, but right now Andy didn't really dare speaking. Not because Sharon was or would be mad; he was an idiot sometimes and he was sure she was well aware of that; but because he didn't trust himself to say anything sensible.

He'd been putting his foot in his mouth the entire day and he was still bracing himself for some more grief from her. He was certain Sharon was more amused with the whole situation than anything else, and that he hadn't _really_ dug himself into a hole, but he still wanted to kick himself for making an idiot of himself by saying any of that stuff in the first place. That she basically jumped at every opportunity to _let_ him make a bigger idiot of himself, and in front of the team at that, didn't help his ego either. And he was also absolutely sure she wasn't striking up a conversation with him right now on purpose, too.

After another 5 minutes, she finally collected her papers into a neat pile and dropped them into a folder, which she then deposited into one of her desk drawers.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and leaned forward in his chair. "You done?" he asked.

"Finally," she let out on a tired sigh and started getting up.

Andy got up as well and walked over to her side of the desk. He helped her slip into her blazer, then lifted her hair from underneath the collar while she grabbed her purse. He was glad to hear her usual "Thank you," at the gesture.

When he opened the door for her and, in a gentlemanly manner, waved a hand in front of her with an "After you, Ma'am." (because a little charm never hurt anybody, he thought), she offered him a smile, but brushed past him.

"Do you think Rusty will like the house?" he asked as they made their way toward the elevator.

She looked at him and gave him a wide smile, "I don't know if _I_ will like the house." The low, but smooth timbre of her voice only barely hid her amusement.

Stupid question, he mentally berated himself. What was wrong with him today? "Er, yeah, I guess," he looked at her as they came to a stop in front of the elevator. She pushed the button to call for it. "But I'm sure you'll love it." He offered her a confident smile, because he really did believe that she would. It fit almost all of their wishes.

"We'll see." she told him, a higher note to her voice, an almost singsong quality to it.

What the hell that tone of voice meant, he had no idea. But thankfully, the elevator doors opened and he didn't linger on that analysis much too longer. He pressed the button to get the elevator moving and took a place next to her. Nobody else was around and he decided to just address the elephant in the room, or, elevator. He had a feeling she was having too much fun to do so herself. "I really put my foot in it, didn't I?"

She took hold of his hand and linked their fingers, lightly swaying their hands between them, and then looked up at him. That amused smile was back, and he had to smile back at the way her eyes sparkled happily. "You did," she told him matter-of-factly.

He sighed and looked heavenward. "I guess, you'll never let me hear the end of it?" If he sounded like a child pouting, he made no attempt to try covering it up.

She let her gaze fall in front of her at the elevator doors and shrugged. "It depends."

"On what?" his voice went up in surprise, eyebrows shooting up as he looked at the side of her face.

"On whether I like the house or not." She looked at him, a teasing smile on her face this time.

Before he could respond, the doors pinged open and she started walking out, pulling him along with her.

They walked to her car hand in hand, but in silence. When she unlocked it with the press of a button on her car key, he opened the door for her. She folded herself into the driver's seat, but before saying goodbye and closing the door, he placed a hand on the roof of the car and leaned against it. He didn't know what made him say it. If Sharon Raydor was truly mad, there would be no mistaking it, so he wasn't making sure she really wasn't, that much was clear. Maybe he just said it for his peace of mind rather than hers. "Sorry for being an idiot today."

Her head snapped up. "You're not an idiot," she told him flatly. Her mouth quirked up in a soft smile when she added, "And you have nothing to apologize for."

Even though he expected them, her words still lit up his face and when she noticed, she tugged on his tie and he gladly leaned down. "Sorry for teasing you," she told him softly when they were at eye level. She kissed him and when they pulled apart, he had a goofy smile on his face and to wipe it off, she added, "But you were just too easy a target."

It did the trick and he gave her a bland look before narrowing his eyes at her. She was laughing before he even opened his mouth. "You're evil," he told her, but kissed her once more anyway.

She smiled when he pulled away. "I'll call you when we see the video, Andy."

He reached for her door and stood up straight again. "Okay, drive safely, Sharon," he told her, closing the door. She waved a hand in goodbye, and he tapped the rooftop twice in quick succession before stepping away so she could drive off. Once she was out of view he shook his head and smiled again.

Maybe they were both idiots, he thought before turning around to find his own car.


	6. F

Family

Sharon had been telling him this for a while now, but it took him forever to realize that she was right.

* * *

He had essentially been grounded and followed by a security detail for a few months now. Despite his constant complaints, he had gotten used to it.

But ever since he had almost been killed and had to pack up to stay with Lieutenant Provenza, the severity of the situation he had found himself in, took his breath away. Not in a good way. But in a way where he would try to take a breath, only his throat would close up and he'd start to panic. But remembering that Sharon was right, helped his throat clear up again and he would be able to take another steadying breath.

Unfortunately, not even that thought could help the way his stomach would flip each time someone knocked on the door.

Whoever was with him at the moment, be it Julio, Provenza or somebody else, would draw their gun and instruct him to get out of view, until they made sure that nobody unwelcome was disturbing them. It barely ever lasted more than 10 seconds, but it was enough to ruin part of his day, even if in the end he grew to like each and every one of those visits.

Besides, seeing them only proved that Sharon was right.

* * *

He had been out for burgers with Provenza and, not counting Sharon, of all the members of the Major Crimes Division, Rusty was closest to him. He was used to Provenza in one on one situations, but there was always an odd feel to staying with someone new at an even newer place, and this time was no different. It had been challenging with Sharon for all sorts of reasons, but with Provenza, he thought it was either very strange or completely hilarious, or both. Provenza was as grumpy as ever, and although he genuinely tried not to make unnecessary demands on Rusty, especially since it wasn't his fault he had to be there, or so he was being told, the man was set in his ways and Rusty somehow managed to step on his toes on the first day of his stay by doing something that for Rusty, and Sharon, was completely natural. He cleared the Lieutenant's coffee table of the pile of papers he had stacked on it, to make room for his cup of coffee. In truth, Provenza didn't exactly bite his head off or anything, but for a second he seemed to gear up to do exactly that, when instead, he shook his head, taking a deep breath, threw Rusty an aggravated look and picked up the stack of papers to place them back on the table. Julio, who was sitting in a chair in Provenza's kitchen, watched the whole ordeal and shook with laughter.

"He doesn't like it when you move his things, Rusty," Julio informed him once he was capable of articulating words.

And Rusty made sure to remember that (he didn't always succeed since chaos or messes were not something he was used to while living with Sharon), even if Provenza suddenly waved Julio off to assure Rusty that it was alright or as he put it, "I will manage to put up with you for a week."

Rusty knew it was his way of telling him that he was still welcome. And that alone only once again, proved that Sharon was right.

* * *

Julio, who spent all nights with him and Provenza, wasn't as weird as the Lieutenant, but he was, for lack of a better word, intense. Rusty was already familiar with his quiet demeanor and he appreciated his sense of humor, but stuck behind four walls with him made him, he didn't like to admit it, slightly uncomfortable.

And who wouldn't be, if Julio's face was what greeted one almost every morning.

But with Julio he also felt protected. It wasn't the way Sharon made him feel protected though. With Julio he simply knew that bullets would have a hard time hitting their target. Having Julio point out to him every day that they would catch the guy who wanted him dead, albeit slightly unnerving, was somehow reassuring as well. Because despite their odds, or the odds Rusty believed they had, he also believed Julio.

Knowing that, reminded him again that Sharon was right.

* * *

Buzz and Amy had stopped by on the second day; Provenza was needed at work; and they came bearing gifts. Food to be exact. Rusty's first thought was that maybe Sharon had sent it, but when Buzz gave him a burger and told him "Don't tell the Captain." and Amy added "It's on us." he realized his assumption was wrong.

He may have been a bit snappy with them, because he insisted on an update regarding his case, and they, of course, refused to divulge any more than Sharon allowed, but they stuck around and kept him company until Provenza was back. Rusty was aware that they were under orders, but burgers and movies weren't orders.

And that meant that Sharon was right.

* * *

The funniest visit he had was when Lieutenant Flynn stopped by. When Provenza recognized him behind the peep hole, he flat out refused to open the door. He had left the poor Lieutenant standing in front of his door for a good minute, purposefully ignoring his knocks and angry shouts before finally letting him in.

The moment he stepped in, Flynn zeroed in on his partner and continued his yelling, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Provenza however, just waved him off. "Stop yelling, I have a guest," he calmly replied, pointing a hand at Rusty, who burst out laughing.

Flynn shot him an angry glare and responded through gritted teeth. "I know that, Provenza, it's him I came to see in the first place!" And mid turn towards Rusty, having remembered something, he whirled around to face the older Lieutenant again, wildly waving his hands through the air, "Who would wanna visit you, anyway, huh?!"

Before Provenza could offer a retort, Rusty quickly butted in, "Hello, Lieutenant Flynn."

And with that their fight was settled. More or less. With Flynn Rusty had actually played chess. He didn't know the man even could play chess, but even though he was nowhere as good as Doctor Joe, Rusty appreciated it all the same.

And considering that Flynn had to put up with Provenza as well, although Rusty suspected that that was just the way those two operated, he appreciated it even more.

Sharon was right, he had to admit. Once more.

* * *

When his phone charger died; yes, that was just what he needed on top of everything else that was going on; Lieutenant Tao stopped by. Honestly, he could've gone without a charger of his own, seeing as Lieutenant Provenza owned the same phone as him, but he was being weird about his stuff again, so Rusty had called Sharon and asked if she could get him another charger because he would die without his phone and then they could just give up on their search for Wade Weller altogether. By the way, that joke did not go over well.

Rusty knew that, even if Sharon maybe tasked Tao with getting a charger, he could have simply sent it to him via Provenza. That he made an effort to stop by, not only to give him the charger, but to also check up on him, was proof once more of how right Sharon was.

* * *

Sharon herself didn't stop by. But they texted all the time. And she called whenever she could. He missed her, he had to admit. However, he understood why she wasn't coming over. The most obvious reason was that she was working tirelessly on getting him home safely again. The other reason he only suspected. She would probably come and wouldn't be able to let go. That's how he felt. And that knowledge was startling and terrifying in and of itself.

But that knowledge further proved Sharon right.

* * *

Sharon had been telling him this for a while now. It may still make him somewhat uncomfortable, even guilty, but he finally understood.

He had a family.

Whether he liked it or not.

* * *

 ** _I have no idea how limited Rusty was during his stay at Provenza's. He was supposed to prep for the trial, but I've no idea if he was escorted to actually meet with Rios or if she came over to Provenza's (which is quite an image, now that I think of it) so for the purposes of this little read, although I doubt he was on complete lockdown, let's just pretend that he was practically locked up at Provenza's for 7 days. Wow, that sounds awful. But you catch my drift._**

 ** _Anyways, please tell me what you thought of this, I'm really curious! It was a bit of an experiment, maybe out of canon, but I had fun writing it, hope you had fun reading it! :)_**


	7. G

**_Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter! Glad you liked it! :D_**

 ** _Here's the next one!_**

* * *

Giddy

It was Rusty who opened the door when he knocked. "Hi, Lieutenant," Rusty greeted him and moved sideways to let him in.

"Hi, Rusty," Andy told him looking around for Sharon.

"She'll be out in a minute," Rusty answered his unasked question, closing the door. "Wanna sit down?" He pointed a hand to the living room.

"Er, yeah, sure," Andy looked down at his watch, "I'm early anyway."

Rusty took a seat on the couch, stretching his feet in front of him and Andy flopped into the chair next to it. "Are you a Dodgers fan?" Rusty suddenly asked, looking the Lieutenant up and down. He was wearing a blue jacket and a cap, the intertwining letters L and A etched into both items of clothing.

"Yes, I am," Andy said brightly, even puffing his chest out in a display of pride. He adjusted the cap on his head, "I invited you, but Sharon said you're not much of a baseball fan so I only got the two of us tickets."

Rusty's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He knew they were going to a game, even about the invite, and it was more than obvious that the Lieutenant was a Dodgers fan; he was merely making small talk; but that _he_ had gotten the tickets, was news.

He didn't have to come up with a response however, because Sharon finally emerged from her bedroom, and both of their heads turned to look at her. When she reached the duo in the living room, instead of greeting the Lieutenant, she said, "We match," waving a finger between them.

Andy chuckled, "Yeah, we do, but what about," he finished his question by tapping a finger on the brim of his cap. She was in a pair of dark jeans and had a blue Dodgers jacket on, similar to Andy's, but there was no cap on her head.

She waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh, no, and ruin my hair?" Her voice was slightly raised, as if the mere idea of it was insulting.

Both Andy and Rusty laughed, and Rusty mumbled "Women." under his breath. Andy had the good sense to clamp down on his threatening laughter at Rusty's remark, and rightly so, because Sharon heard it, too, and zeroed in on the young man. "I _am_ a woman," she explained with feigned impatience, but there was also a note of levity in her voice.

Rusty just slumped into the couch and rolled his eyes. And when Andy mumbled, "You walked right into that one," he graced the good Lieutenant with another eye roll.

Sharon opened her mouth to remind him of his manners, but Andy interrupted before she could start. "So are you ready to go?"

She looked at him, snapping her mouth shut, deciding to deal with Rusty later, and nodded. Andy pushed off the chair using his hands on the armrest and got to his feet. "Alright then," he said pulling on his jacket and shrugging his shoulders beneath it.

Rusty watched with interest as Sharon gathered her purse and, instead of following the Lieutenant, who was holding the door open for her now, looked back at Rusty while digging through her purse. "You all set?" she asked as she fished out her wallet.

"Yup, go, have fun," Rusty turned his attention back to the TV, reaching for the remote to un-mute it.

"Okay," she told Rusty before turning toward Andy. "Here you go," she handed him a handful of bills she just took out of her wallet, "for my ticket."

Rusty's ears perked up at the words. He didn't look at them, but he heard the Lieutenant's voice, "Oh, yeah, thanks." He sounded weird, and he could imagine him rubbing a hand on the back of his head. Either way, he smirked to himself. Apparently, the Lieutenant hadn't paid for both tickets after all.

"Bye," both Sharon and Flynn threw his way.

When he offered them a "Goodbye." in return, they left, leaving him to finally enjoy his TV show.

* * *

When they entered his car, Andy gave Sharon a long inquisitive look. He had never seen her like this and he was genuinely amused. She was, simply put, excited. On the elevator ride to the garage she was wearing a huge smile on her face and was shooting him a million questions about the game. She was completely relaxed and was practically skipping on their way to the car. Or well, as much as one can claim Captain Sharon Raydor skipped at all. He had already known she was a sports fan, she liked football, too, but this, this was knew.

"What's wrong?" her softly spoken words broke him out of his thoughts, and he mentally berated himself for having stared at her, even if he wasn't really seeing her since he was trapped with the thoughts inside of his head.

But the way she looked at him now made him bold enough to just tell her. "I have never seen you this excited, Sharon."

She waved him off, "Oh, sure you have."

"No, I don't think I have," he assured her, starting the car. He had seen her excited, Ricky's visit came to mind, but this was another form of excitement. And it was thoroughly entertaining.

"I like baseball," she offered in a poor attempt of an explanation.

"I noticed," he gave her an amused quirk of an eyebrow and made no move to actually start driving the now running car.

"Yes?" she dragged the word out, in that way that used to annoy him, quirking an eyebrow of her own at him.

"You're almost," he tilted his head, looking at a random spot somewhere behind her, searching for the right word, "and I say this with the utmost respect," he waved a hand in emphasis, "giddy with excitement," he finally decided.

She just let out a soft laugh. "Well, that I don't think you have seen yet, Andy."

"Sorry, Captain," he wasn't sorry at all, and didn't even notice he slipped back into calling her Captain, "but I think you're giddy."

She looked away, at the wall the car was facing. "It has been a while since I've been to a game," she shook her head in amusement. "I most certainly am excited, but," she pinned him with a serious look, " _giddy_ with excitement, I am not."

Andy let out a chuckle, "If you say so," he didn't bother to try to sound convincing. When she just smiled and returned her gaze in front of her, he decided she didn't mind the friendly jab and finally got the car moving.

* * *

By the time they reached the stadium Andy had started a discussion on baseball caps. He tried talking her into trying his cap on, but she wouldn't budge, not even an inch.

Standing in line now, waiting for admittance into the stadium, his eyes landed on the Team Store. "Can you hold our place? I'll be right back." And before she could even form the question "Where are you going?" he disappeared into the crowd of people.

He returned in less than 5 minutes, hands folded behind his back as he approached her. The line had barely moved at all.

"What's that behind your back?" she asked right away, voice raising in pitch ever so slightly.

He almost rolled his eyes at her, if _she_ wasn't a detective he had no idea who was. At the same time he recognized the sudden opportunity that presented itself in front of him, precisely _because_ he knew who and what she was. With a happy grin he leaned down a bit, closer to her and said, "I'll make you a deal." She raised an eyebrow at that, signalling for him to carry on. "I'll tell you what's behind my back, if you promise to do me a favor afterwards." With that he straightened up again.

"You do realize that I can simply look behind your back?" she informed him in her Captain's voice. "Even if you manage to hide it now, you won't be able to hide it forever," she added for good measure, a smile tugging at her lips.

He raised a finger in front of him, waving it at her, his other hand still firmly behind his back. "Oh, I do, but I also know you like rules." The challenge in his voice was unmistakable.

"Oh, gosh," she let out on a slightly exasperated sigh, "would you, please just tell me what it is?"

"Do we have a deal then?" She did not at all appreciate the smug grin on his face.

"Fine, we have a deal," she conceded waving a hand at him, as if to urge him to finally present whatever it was he felt necessary to hide. Whatever favor he'd ask, she was comfortable in the knowledge that he would still be respectful, both as her subordinate as well as her friend.

A flash of worry, however, did cross her mind at the even wider grin on the Lieutenant's face. But he completely relaxed when he finally held out his other hand.

"A baseball cap?" she asked in disbelief, eyeing the offensive item. "That's your big secret?" She looked up at Andy, her voice clearly indicative of just how unimpressed she was.

Andy didn't even manage to properly start his sentence, voice coated in good-natured humor, "Yes, but-" when Sharon took a demonstrative step back and threatened him with a wave of her finger. "Absolutely not, Lieutenant." She lifted her chin in graceful defiance and folded her arms.

"Captain," Andy told her seriously, "a deal's a deal. You have to try it on."

Instead of letting this dissolve into what she assumed could only be an immature dispute, she made a conscious effort to relax. "What is it with you and baseball caps?"

"No real Dodgers fan wears only a jacket or only a cap, it's either both or nothing." He was dangling the cap on a finger, waiting for her to take it. He wasn't sure forcing it on her head would go over that well. He barely dared thinking it, let alone trying it. But the temptation was still there.

She finally took a step back toward him and gracefully took the cap off his finger. Honestly, anybody else, Provenza for example, would have angrily snatched it off his hand, making sure to painfully bend his finger in the process. Not Sharon Raydor though.

She gingerly set the cap on top of her head and fixed him with a really exasperated look this time. "Happy?"

He just nodded and smiled again, "Very." He didn't know what her problem was, her hair was perfectly fine. The cap was loose enough so that not a single strand of hair stuck out. Her hair was as impeccable as ever, puffing out underneath the cap only fractionally. He mentally rolled his eyes. Rusty was right, " _Women._ "

She shook her head, but made no attempt at getting rid of the cap, even though nowhere in his end of the deal did he say she had to _keep_ the cap on. There was no way she didn't notice that giant loophole, and he smirked at the realization.

The line moved and as they took a couple of steps forward she looked at him. He was smiling like a kid in a candy store. When he caught her look, she raised an eyebrow, "And you call me giddy, Lieutenant?"

His smile only widened.


	8. H

Heart-to-Heart

"So, Patrice, huh?" Andy asked his partner in a hushed voice.

The impromptu party was still underway and Sharon had managed to drag Patrice away from Provenza to properly introduce her to the rest of the team, and if Andy had grown to know anything about Sharon at all, probably in order to get to know the woman, too. So now, being in the opposite corner of the room from both of them, Andy jumped at the chance to grill his partner.

"Yes, Patrice," Provenza said curtly. He was leaning against the fridge and he gave Andy a look that clearly said "I don't wanna talk about it."

A look Andy, naturally, ignored. He waved a hand in the direction of Patrice, who was talking with Amy at the moment. "So, she was your big secret?" Andy was standing next to his partner, leaning against the vending machine next to the refrigerator. He wasn't trying to annoy the man by being nosy; although that was definitely an added bonus; he was genuinely interested. After all, his partner only ever hid those things that were either embarrassing or important to him.

Provenza followed Andy's hand and his eyes settled on the woman in question. She was laughing at whatever Amy was saying. "She's not a secret." He grumbled the words, a hint of both anger and annoyance in them, but the almost soft look on his face had Andy's eyebrows go up in surprise. So she was important, he thought.

"Mhm," he let out folding his arms across his chest, his own gaze landing on Patrice now.

It was a simple hum of acknowledgement, but Provenza suddenly turned to him, pinning him with an agitated look, hands settling on his hips. "What are you mhming about?"

"What?" Andy gave him a genuinely confused look and threw his hands up in surrender. "Nothing. Good for you." His voice raised defensively but he tried to keep it down for fear of drawing either Patrice's or Sharon's attention, or even worse, _both_ of their attentions.

The older Lieutenant gave him a narrow-eyed look. When he spoke, his voice was almost venomous. "At least I _admit_ I'm dating someone." He punctuated the words by folding his arms in smug defiance.

Andy bristled up at that. "I am not dating _anyone_!" he hissed at Provenza, leaning down to get into his face.

"And yet you don't see _me_ throwing a Christmas party for her." Provenza told him, his earlier agitation now replaced by something akin to mocking.

"Ricky threw the party," Andy started defensively, pointing at the young man. He was leaning against the glass wall next to the door, a cup of eggnog in hand, and listening to Emily, who seemed to be animatedly talking about something. "I only helped out!"

"Tomayto, tomahto," Provenza unfolded his arms and waved his hands up and down as if weighing the words.

"You're an idiot," Andy huffed, leaning back against the fridge.

"Who can tell when he's dating someone," Provenza said smoothly, folding his arms again, a self-satisfied smirk on his face now.

"Sharon and I are just friends! Would you just drop it already?!" Andy was in his face again, whisper-yelling and waving his hands at him.

Provenza turned to face him again, suddenly gearing up to yell right back, "I _would_ if yo-"

"Louie?" Patrice's soft voice had him snap his mouth shut.

When both him and Andy turned to look at the source of the voice, to their utter shock, they set eyes on their Captain as well.

"Yes, Patrice?" he deflated instantly, voice dropping to its more softer tones as he turned his attention to her.

"Is something wrong?" she looked between the two partners.

"Yes," Sharon spoke up, eyeing the two with a suspicious look, "is everything alright?"

They both scrambled for words. "Uh, yes." Andy said, at the same moment Provenza said, "No," effectively putting puzzled looks on both women's faces.

"Nothing's the matter," Provenza took over, shooting his partner one last look, one of warning this time, as he moved to put an arm around Patrice, to lead her away.

Andy scratched the back of his head, "Uh, yeah," he started, meeting his partner's gaze, "just having a," he turned his attention to Sharon, "uh, heart-to-heart." He shrugged as if that gave his words more sense.

Sharon's eyebrow quirked up and a line of disbelief formed on her forehead, but she gave him an amused smile. "A heart-to-heart?" She only barely suppressed the snort that threatened to burst out of her. Her two senior Lieutenants could be up to all sorts of things, but a heart-to-heart was not one of them.

Provenza had already dashed away with Patrice in tow and Andy's eyes followed them for a moment before he focused them on Sharon again. "Yes," he confirmed stubbornly.

"Hmm," she nodded. "Well, then, would you like some cookies?" she asked merrily, lifting her hands up slightly to show him the plate of her homemade cookies she was carrying.

He'd not even noticed it until then. He shook his head, shaking himself out of his befuddled state.

Sharon's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh, okay," she said, lowering her hands.

"Oh, no, I mean," he took a second to take a breath and to find his ability to speak sensibly, "yes, I'd love some cookies!"

She actually laughed at him this time, but offered her plate anyway. "Are you sure nothing's wrong, Andy?" she asked when he took a cookie.

"Yeah," he said around a bite. He waved a hand at Provenza and rolled his eyes. "Provenza," he said simply.

"Provenza," she repeated, turning to lay eyes on him. He was on the other side of the room now, talking to Mike with Patrice.

"Yeah," he said, as if the explanation was as clear as day, and took another cookie.


	9. I

_**I came across this phrase only recently and I've no idea how common it is, maybe I've even completely misused it in this particular context. But the letter 'I' was a great opportunity for me to play with it so this piece is really silly, but please indulge me? Maybe you get a laugh out of it, too!**_

 _ **Do educate me if I was way off target!**_

 _ **Set in between seasons 4 and 5.**_

* * *

In Like Flynn

"Fine, Captain," Assistant Chief Taylor sighed, "but tread lightly," he added, already heading out of the murder room.

"Yes, Chief," Sharon nodded at his back and looked heavenward in annoyed disbelief before turning back to face her team.

The team had been gathered around their Captain, enjoying the show. They had a high profile case on their hands and the Chief was breathing down their necks, expecting them to both conduct their investigation as fast and accurate as possible _and to_ walk on eggshells. The Captain, naturally, wouldn't have it, especially since the Chief's oh so very important person seemed to be the culprit they were looking for. Actually, she would walk on eggshells, she often did anyway, but not at the expense of putting the right person behind bars. So when Taylor heard that the Major Crimes division asked for a warrant to search that person's home and work place and he came storming into the murder room, ready to bite their heads off, Sharon Raydor did not even flinch.

He immediately started illustrating one possible PR nightmare after another, but before any of the team could even process what was happening in front of them, Sharon had Taylor not only convinced of the fact that the warrant was very much warranted, but had managed to rope him into using his dreaded public to help them, too. And now they were in for a break until a judge signed off on their warrant.

The moment Taylor was out of sight and earshot, Tao, who seemed mightily impressed, practically cheered at his Captain. "Impressive, Captain, you got in like Flynn!" He was standing next to Provenza, the two of them flanking Sharon's left side.

Both Sharon's and Andy's heads snapped up, and they fixed him with a questioning look. Provenza, Julio, Buzz and Amy looked equally confused.

"Like me?" Andy, who stood to Sharon's right, arms crossed over his chest, beat her to the question.

"Yes," Tao said simply, as if what he said was perfectly clear. When he noticed the puzzled looks on the faces in front of him, he rubbed a hand over his head. "Oh," he started, eyes going wide and eyebrows lifting, "well, you see..."

"Ye gods," Provenza interrupted him. He rolled his eyes and started walking towards his desk to fold himself into his chair, "Brace yourselves," he waved a hand at Tao, "here comes the encyclopedia!"

Tao, now looking puzzled as well, let his hand fall down to his side, and, deciding to just cut his explanation short, said, "It's a phrase."

Sharon however, not paying Tao much attention, turned it to Provenza, "Unlike you, Lieutenant, I am actually interested in hearing what Mike has to say."

"Me too," Andy angrily shot at his partner.

"Fine, fine," Provenza mumbled, propping his elbows on his desk and placing his head in his hands.

"You said that I was _in like Flynn_?" Sharon inquired in a carefully modulated voice, brushing a hand over Andy's arm.

"Well, yes," Tao leaned against the desk Amy was sitting at, "you see," he lifted his hands, palm upwards, and shrugged his shoulders, "it's an expression."

Andy's face lit up at that. "Really?" he asked, voice raising in surprise.

"Yes," Tao confirmed, "it means to achieve something easily or quickly, and in the way you wanted to." He shrugged a shoulder as if it was self-explanatory.

"I see," Sharon said slowly, eyeing the Lieutenant, probably trying to figure out whether he was just making this up or if he was actually telling the truth.

Andy however, practically bounced up and down on his feet. He wiggled his eyebrows, lifted his chin and placed his hands behind his back. "In like Flynn, you say?" The smug look that settled on his features had Amy unsuccessfully fight back a bark of laughter but she sobered quickly when Andy shot her a look.

"That's right," Tao said, nodding his head, completely in his element as he went on. "The term is linked to Errol Flynn," he paused and waved a hand through the air, "you know, the movie star."

Everybody but Julio nodded. He was standing behind his desk, arms folded behind his back, and chuckled. Mike turned around to look at him, "What?"

Julio chuckled again, "Wasn't he accused of rape?"

Andy's face fell with that information, but Mike, who didn't notice him, went happily on, "Oh, yes, but he was cleared of all charges." He turned his focus back to Sharon and Andy, Sharon with a carefully curious expression on her face, and Andy with a slightly worried one on his.

"He had a reputation though," Mike pressed on, completely oblivious to their reactions. Andy perked up again, but when the words "womanizer" and "alcoholic" left Mike's lips, he lifted up his hand to silence him and shook his head.

"Okay, I don't wanna know anymore," he shook his head again and made his way to his desk, "I should have stopped you at 'It's a phrase'," he added as he slumped into his chair.

"But why," Provenza suddenly piped up, a mocking quality to his voice, "what could possibly be wrong with being a womanizer and an alcoholic, Flynn?" His face was still resting between his hands, but he turned it to fix his partner with a smug look.

Andy just glared back at him, directing a mix of anger, exasperation and sheer annoyance at him.

When Sharon suddenly let out a short laugh, her shoulders rising with the unexpected outburst, both Provenza and Andy pinned her with a look. Although both caught in surprise, Provenza's eyes widened with it, whereas Andy's narrowed as the two partners regarded their Captain. She ran a hand through her hair, as if adjusting her do, and clearly ignoring the two Lieutenants, turned her attention to the third. "Thank you, Mike. That was," she slanted a bemused look at Andy, "quite educational."

Tao gave her a smile and nodded, but addressed Andy. He hadn't planned on upsetting the man. "It's only Flynn because he was good at getting his way." Andy gave him a bland look, but it didn't thwart Mike at all, and he continued, lost in thought now, "Although, the phrase is also used in regard to successful sexual escapades," he shrugged his shoulders, as if that particular bit of information was as trivial as it possibly could be. He didn't even register the now almost angry frown forming on Andy's face or Sharon's slight raising of her eyebrows at the tidbit, and merrily went on. "But there's also another possible origin-"

"Geez, stop!" Andy finally yelled, holding his palms up in surrender. "Please," he really was pleading, "I don't wanna know. I _really_ don't."

But Provenza jumped at the chance of torturing his partner, "No, no, no, please _tell_ us!" His hands were no longer under his head, but flat on his desk as he straightened up in his chair, and he was looking at Mike expectantly.

Mike's eyebrows shot up. He looked between Provenza and Andy, but before saying anything, he settled his gaze on Sharon. She closed her eyes and only fractionally shook her head, before turning to walk toward her office.

"Nah, it's not important," Mike waved the old Lieutenant off and walked towards his own desk.

By the time Sharon reached her office, Andy let out a relieved, "Thank God!"

When she heard Provenza say, "Oh, but I can always look it up on the internet!" she quickly took the few remaining steps towards her office, and after firmly closing the door behind her, dissolved into a quiet shoulder shaking laughter.

It was probably a good thing she couldn't hear Buzz's "Here, let me help you with that, Lieutenant."

But when her phone buzzed and she fished it out to read a message from Andy, she was glad her office blinds were drawn together.

The message said, "Stop laughing."

And it had the exact opposite effect on her.

* * *

 _ **So, what's the verdict? How did this experiment of mine go? *braces herself***_


	10. J

Jackass

"Urgh!" Sharon groaned and stopped in her tracks, making Andy come to a halt as well to look at her in surprise.

They were walking hand in hand and were just about to reach her car as they were coming from the restaurant Andy had talked her into going to for dinner. He was going stir crazy cooped up in the condo with nothing to do and was now levitating on cloud nine for having talked her into a quiet evening out. With her constant worrying and fretting over him, the evening had been a nice change of pace. For a moment, even he forgot to worry about himself.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing together.

She pointed a hand at the car next to hers. "That's Jack's car."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Of course, I'm sure," a hint of impatience in her voice. "It's his licence plate," she added, more gently this time.

"Oh," he said following her gaze. She hadn't spoken to Jack since he let the proverbial cat out of the bag regarding his blood clot, a couple of weeks ago, and she obviously wasn't in the mood to have to talk to him now either. He looked around, "No sign of him though."

"Thank God," she sighed, "I really don't want him to ruin our evening."

"It's been a great evening, hasn't it?" Andy's voice sounded soft, a hint of contentment in it as well.

She hummed in agreement and pulled out her hand from his hold to wrap her hands around his arm instead. She leaned her head against his shoulder as she pulled him closer to her. "Come on," She gently nudged him to resume walking. He gladly obliged, placing a quick kiss to the top of her head.

Andy was just about to open the car door he unlocked using her key, when a booming voice sounded from somewhere behind them.

"Good evening, Sharon!"

Sharon closed her eyes for a moment and squeezed Andy's arm as she took in a breath, before untangling herself from him to face Jack. "Good evening, Jack," she said politely.

"Fancy seeing you two here." He looked at Andy, "How's the," he rested a finger against his neck for a moment, "situation going?"

Andy was surprised at the feel of his blood boiling at the man's inquiry. He hadn't expected that, it wasn't his first rodeo with Jack after all. One of his hands unconsciously clenched into a fist even. "None of your business, Jack." His jaw clenched with his rising anger and his forcefully controlled voice made the words sound rather intimidating, even if Andy tried to keep it in check along with his temper.

"Oh, well," Jack almost singsonged, taking the remaining few steps to his car. "Good luck with that," he added opening his car door.

Sharon turned towards Andy and reached for the hand still curled into a fist. She couldn't help but immediately worry about his blood pressure. Trying to clamp down on his anger couldn't be good for it. "Goodbye, Jack," she coolly told her ex-husband, as Andy finally relaxed his hand and wrapped his fingers around hers.

"Au revoir, m'lady," Jack boomed and got in his car.

Sharon rolled her eyes and Andy finally opened the door. When Jack started his car and drove off, he barked, "Jackass!" He was almost completely relaxed again, only the scowl on his face gave away his temper.

Sharon snorted a laugh, wiping Andy's scowl off his face with it. His brows shot up in surprise again and he watched her take her seat behind the wheel. "You know, he's the father of 2 of my children, and I really should not be saying this," she looked up at Andy, who was standing next to the door, eyes now glued to hers, and pulled on her seatbelt, "but, yes," she nodded, "he's a jackass alright."

When her words registered, Andy just burst out laughing. He closed the door for her and started walking around the car to get into the passenger's seat. There was no sign of his previous agitation anymore, only amused head shaking. When he fastened his own seatbelt and she started the car, he asked, a note of mischief in his voice, "Is it really wrong if it's true?"

"Oh, you're terrible," she told him on a laugh of her own.

"Also true," he confirmed confidently, eliciting another laugh from her as she started driving.

"So, what's the evening like now?" Andy asked after a few moments.

She gave him a quick look and smiled at him. "Still great," she told him, not a hint of doubt in her voice.

He nodded, and placed a hand over hers, the one resting on the gear shift. "I think so, too," he agreed with a smile.


	11. K

Keep up the good work

The rest of the team looked up from their desks when she asked him to join her in her office, and she didn't have to look back at them to know that they were exchanging curious, maybe even worried, looks. She caught Andy's however, but it was one of understanding and he punctuated it with a nod of his head.

She hadn't really spoken to him since his suspension ended, and now, before finishing up and heading home, she decided was as good a time as any to do so.

"Please, sit down, Julio," she waved a hand at the chairs in front of her desk while moving toward her own chair behind it.

He sat down, shoulders squared and hands safely deposited on top of his thighs, and waited.

She adjusted in her seat, pushing the chair closer to her desk, and addressed him. "That was excellent work today, Julio."

If the words surprised him, he hid it well and someone less familiar with him would have missed the way his shoulders relaxed, if only fractionally. "Thank you, Ma'am." A brief smile appeared on his face.

"How do you feel?" she spoke in a soft voice and if the words didn't force his eyebrows to lift in another flash of surprise, then the voice most certainly must have.

He let his head fall, and he focused on his hands, in search of an answer to give her. When he found it, he looked up again, meeting her patient gaze. "It's good to be back, Ma'am." There was a rough edge to his voice, but he sounded confident enough to continue before she could say anything in response. "You stuck your neck out for me today, Captain."

She slightly shook her head and gave him a lighthearted smile. "No, I don't think so," she told him, her voice only fractionally higher than usually.

His gaze was unwavering when he quietly pointed out, "Chief Taylor wanted to keep me behind a desk." A smirk suddenly settled on his face. "You would've been in trouble, Ma'am, if I had messed up."

"Chief Taylor never ordered me," she gave him a knowing look, "to chain you to a desk, Julio."

"Even Lieutenant Provenza disagreed with you," he told her.

"When does he not?" she asked sarcastically before she could catch herself. She waved a hand in the air as if chasing the words away, and quickly continued before Julio could do more than just chuckle, "I don't think he disagreed, he only worried," she gave him an amused look, "but if he did," she briefly smiled, "it's a good thing that I outrank him then."

The way she innocently shrugged her shoulders had Julio let out a short laugh. "Ma'am, I'm really glad you're on my side," he confessed, shaking his head.

Her eyes flickered from the detective in front of her to the remaining ones in the murder room. She could see them through the open blinds and she was certain that they were trying very hard to not be caught staring at them. When she returned her gaze to Julio, she seemed lost in thought. "I am always on your side," she gave him a pointed look, "unless you give me a reason not to be." There was only the slightest of warning in her voice.

"So I haven't given you a reason yet?" he seemed genuinely interested in the answer.

The corners of her mouth lifted to form a small smile, but when she started her response, her voice adopted a more dangerous note of warning. "I don't know," she ever so slightly narrowed her eyes at him, "Can you think of a reason for chaining you to a desk," she leaned back in her chair, folding her hands in her lap, "Detective?"

He laughed and shook his head. "No, Ma'am, I like working in the field."

She grew even more serious with her next question. "And do you like working in a team?"

He studied her for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed as he analyzed her question. His voice dipped to a lower tone when he slowly asked a question of his own. "Is this about Lieutenant Flynn, Captain?"

She wasn't surprised that he saw right through her, he was a detective after all, and her face remained impassive even though she cocked her head before speaking. "That doesn't answer my question, Julio." She even offered him another small smile.

He took a breath and his face relaxed as he nodded. "I do," he answered, that rough edge returning to his voice.

"Good." she replied simply, but gave him a long appraising look. He got her point, she was certain. She would let the situation run its course. For now.

"Is that all, Ma'am?" he asked carefully. He was watching her intensely, trying to get a read on her the same way she had tried to read him a moment ago.

"Unless there's something you'd like to share?" He was very emotional earlier with Mr. Holland. She would like to know what it was about, but would understand if he'd be unwilling to share. Perks of being the boss, she scoffed mentally.

He got to his feet and regarded her for a another brief moment. Whatever he saw had him shake his head. "I don't think so, Ma'am."

"In that case," she lifted the lid of her laptop, and gave him one last look, "keep up the good work, Detective."

He gave her one last nod, and left.

* * *

 ** _Just a scene I'd love to have seen in episode 4x02. I would squeeze it in somewhere between their final interview with Holland and Julio telling the squad about his wife._**


	12. L

Long Face

They were sitting next to each other in the waiting room. The rest of the gang had already left and with Rusty finally having been talked into going home, too, they were now alone. Well, there were a couple of people sitting on the other side of the room, but since he didn't know them and ignored them, they didn't count.

It had barely been a minute, but it already felt weird just sitting there in silence. He hated seeing her like this. It wasn't the first time, of course; he was witness to her worrying one way or another plenty of times. However, this time was one of those rarer times when her worries had her on the verge of tears. And tears, well, those made everybody uncomfortable and he was no different.

If it had been Andy sitting there, he'd have adopted his usual gruff and grumpy approach. Joking, teasing and yelling until Andy would have had enough, which would in turn force him to pull himself together long enough to offer at least one genuinely comforting thing. He was good at distractions, and Andy was easy to distract.

Sharon Raydor, on the other hand, was not. He had seen that woman distracted only once. And under quite challenging circumstances. If it had been Andy, he'd have started with something along the lines of "What's with the long face?" which he knew would have immediately riled his partner up enough to keep him distracted for a good 5 minutes.

However, that was not the best approach with his Captain, he knew. Despite her having a long face, quite literally, at the moment.

But if he saw her lift her fingers to her mouth only to drop them into her lap again, once more, he was going to lose it though. She had been switching between almost biting her nails and clasping her hands in what he assumed was prayer ever since Andy was wheeled into surgery. It was driving him nuts. Besides, he was worried, too. About Andy, _and_ about Sharon. And _that_ , in and of itself was worrying.

While he was busy trying to come up with at least some words to say, Sharon broke the silence, effectively stopping his inner ramblings.

Her voice was soft, and she only barely kept it from shaking. She was comforting herself more than him. "It should be a quick surgery, an hour or so." And it had been more than half an hour now since he was taken to surgery.

Provenza looked at her; she was staring in front of herself; and nodded. "Routine surgery." He had no idea if it was, but if it was that quick, it must have been.

"I don't believe in routine surgeries," she told him, her voice steadier now.

Under normal circumstances, he would have rolled his eyes at her. Of course the woman did not believe in routine surgeries! What the hell was he thinking?

Before he could help it, he grumbled, "You know what I mean!" and waved a hand at her.

And to his utter surprise she actually looked at him, smiled and said, "I know."

He usually never refrained from using humor on her. She had a rather wicked sense of humor herself. Not that he would ever admit to that in front of her, or Andy, but it was true. And ever since this entire ordeal with Andy had started humor had been something like a coping mechanism for him, and although he would never admit to this out loud either, he was glad to see it put the occasional smile on her face as well. Only now, worry, and even a bit of fear at the possibility of losing his partner, had washed over him, too. And as if that wasn't enough, _she_ was even _more_ worried and afraid.

But her smile shook him out of his reverie, and he turned into his old self. "Once he wakes up, he'll be as annoying as ever," he mumbled and shook his head.

"I certainly hope so, Lieutenant." Her gaze returned to the wall opposite of them.

"How long till he wakes up?" he asked, looking at the wall as well. "I mean, once the surgery's over?" he added.

She shrugged, "I don't know. It's light anesthesia, so not long I assume." She intertwined the fingers of her hands in her lap. "But I'm sure the doctor will let us know once they're done."

They lapsed into silence again, a less uncomfortable one now. She had stopped fidgeting, and he was leaning more comfortably in his chair, hands resting on its armrests. He was considering grabbing his crossword puzzle, it was on the chair next to him, when she broke the silence again.

"You don't have to sit here with me, Lieutenant."

When he looked up, he saw she was looking at him. There were no more tears in her eyes, and he felt relieved at the realization. "Nah," he waved her off, "I wanna be here if he dies, so I can kill him." he said gruffly. Technically, he was there as his medical power of attorney, but he'd have stayed regardless. She knew that as well.

Her eyes widened slightly for a moment, and he worried that it may have been the wrong thing to say, but when she smiled and softly said, "Me, too," he couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped him.

"He won't die," he told her firmly once his laughter passed. "He told me so," he added, when she gave him a bland look. "He said," he leaned forwards in his chair and turned so he was facing her better, "he wasn't dying for a long time." He dragged out the last two words and rolled his eyes for effect.

"And you believe him?" A bit of worry had seeped back into her voice, but there was a bit of amusement there, too, and Provenza latched onto it immediately.

"What? You don't?" He pinned her with a look of mock disbelief.

She gave him a small smile and untangled her fingers, lifting her hands to the chair's armrests, but her voice turned serious, even wistful, when she replied, "Believing him is my only option at the moment."

And there were those tears again. He really might just kill his partner when he wakes up. When did he sign up for this? Tears alone could throw him, but tears on Sharon Raydor, now, that was terrifying, even if it wasn't the first time he'd seen them. The woman wasn't made of stone, but if there was one thing he had learned about her, it was that it took a lot to break her. She wasn't broken at the moment of course, but there were cracks. And he couldn't wait for those cracks to disappear.

On a weird sentimental impulse, he covered one of her hands with his own, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It'll all be over soon," he told _her_ as much as he told himself.

The moment was interrupted before Sharon could do more than nod reassuringly, when they heard an attention seeking cough. Their heads, and the heads of those other two people in the waiting room, snapped to its source.

When they realized it was Doctor Liu they both jumped to their feet. He made a move to take his hand back with the intention of putting it into one of his pockets, but Sharon grabbed hold of it and didn't let go.

"He's being moved to recovery. A textbook surgery." The doctor didn't beat about the bush, which he much appreciated. Sharon, too, he thought. They both released a huge sigh of relief, and Sharon squeezed his hand at the doctor's words.

"When can we-" Sharon started, but the doctor interrupted her.

"See him?" she lifted an eyebrow knowingly, and the two of them nodded. "It was light anesthesia, he should be up in an hour or so." She pushed her glasses back on top of her nose. "But you can see him once he's settled in his recovery room. A nurse will let you know when that is."

"Thank you," Sharon told her politely and the doctor nodded in response before taking her leave.

Sharon let go of Provenza's hand. Finally, he thought. Then she turned to look at him. "Textbook surgery," she repeated.

He hadn't even noticed just how tense her entire appearance had been, but when he took her in now, a bright smile making its way on to her face as she reached for her phone to let Rusty, or Nicole, he assumed, know everything was fine, the realization hit him in full force.

Her shoulders had been stiff and were now much more relaxed, loose even. She always had perfect posture, but she was less rigid now. And her face, how had he not noticed how pale she had been up until a moment ago? And yes, she had tears in her eyes again, but they were happy, relieved tears now. If he was perfectly honest, he was fighting a strange lump in his throat, too, and that was as close to tears as he ever came. Her entire face had relaxed. He wasn't even aware of how tense her forehead, chin and even cheeks had been, until he actually saw the muscles relax, softening her entire features.

"Textbook surgery," he repeated as well, even though he was fairly certain she wasn't listening anymore.

In any case, good, now he could kill his partner when he wakes up.

He had never signed up for holding his partner's girlfriend's hand.

* * *

 ** _I'd love to hear your opinions on this. Did I overdo it? With either one of them? I might have gotten carried away so I can't really tell._**

 ** _And thanks for all your reviews so far!_**


	13. M

**_Set soon after the Hindsight arc, in between seasons 4 and 5. :)_**

* * *

My mom... and her boyfriend

When he opened the door to the condo he was greeted by darkness. On closer inspection, he noticed there was a dim light coming from the TV, low voices emanating from it, too. He briefly considered turning the lights on, but when he took two steps towards the living room and when his eyes fell on the couch, just barely making out two apparently sleeping forms there, he thought better of it.

He gently dropped his bag onto the floor and got out of his shoes. He'd rather just go to his bedroom, but the couch wasn't that comfortable for _him_ to sleep on, a young man in his early twenties, it would most certainly not be for the two occupying it now. He should wake them up.

He quietly made his way into the living room. When he saw them, he silently flopped into the chair next to the couch, taking in the sight in front of him.

It was still weird for him, seeing them like this. It's not that he disliked it. Or as if they were constantly, inappropriately, all over each other. He just had no idea how to act around them, especially if they were all lovey dovey. He simply never was one for public displays of affection. But he was less awkward about it now, he thought. He had made a conscious effort to try acting more normal around them. He didn't know if it was because he really was used to, not just the idea of them, but also to being around them and seeing them together, or, if maybe being with Gus now provided him with a better perspective, but he definitely felt more comfortable around them. Most of the time. There were still some things that made him cringe or look away, because, let's face it, that's his mom, and there are some things no kid wants to imagine or see his parent doing. Not that he saw anything disturbing, he shuddered at _that_ thought, but he really hoped it was understandable. At least his mom didn't give him any grief about it, so he figured that at least _she_ understood. And at the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

Right now, though, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. But he really should wake them up.

They must have been sitting next to each other before they fell asleep. Andy was actually still sitting, legs stretched out under the coffee table, head resting on the back of the couch. How the man didn't snore at that angle, was beyond him. He didn't know what to call Sharon's position though. How she managed to stay asleep in that position was an even bigger mystery. She had her feet tucked in underneath her, legs bent sideways so that her knees were resting against the side of Andy's thigh. She must have been leaning back with her head against his right shoulder while they were still awake, because she was now awkwardly hunched over and her head rested somewhere against the middle of his chest. Her hair was all over the place, too. But her glasses were still, miraculously, safely perched on her nose. Andy must have had his right arm behind her on the backrest of the couch, because it seemed to have slipped when they fell asleep, and it was now resting on top of Sharon's bent back. He couldn't see her left arm, but he had often seen her slip it behind Andy around his waist, so he assumed it was there now, too. He mentally winced thinking about her poor shoulder for which this could not have been a comfortable position either.

When his eyes landed on their hands, he couldn't help but think that they looked rather adorable. Those two hands were probably the only part of their bodies which would not scream with stiffness once he woke them up. They had their fingers intertwined and the resulting bundle of two hands was safely resting on top of Andy's right thigh, where he assumed it was resting even before they dozed of.

He was loathe to wake them. Not because it felt awkward, it didn't really, but because they seemed so at peace, so content. It's been a couple of weeks since they wrapped up that gang case of theirs or whatever it was, and things were back to normal at work, well, as normal as it ever got for them. They no longer spent almost all of their time at work like they did during that case. They were making up for lost time now. Well, at least it seemed that way to him, because they were spending a lot of time together outside of work again and they hadn't at all during the case. They were spending a _lot_ more time together actually, he suddenly realized. He also realized that _that_ realization did not bother him at all.

He got up to his feet. He really should wake them. He grew stiff just watching them like that. He bent over slightly to wake Sharon first, when Andy stirred.

He groaned, and lifted his head. His eyes were probably on their way to Sharon, but when they first fell on him, he let out a surprised, but whispered, "Rusty?"

Rusty straightened up to look at the Lieutenant. "I was just gonna wake you. That," he waved a hand at them, "doesn't look comfortable." He was whispering the same way Andy was.

Andy closed his eyes and stifled a yawn. "Yeah, it really isn't." He looked down at Sharon, who was still sound asleep. "Sharon?" he called gently.

Rusty took a step back, maybe it was a bit awkward after all, "Er, I'll just," he pointed a finger at the hallway, but before he could finish the sentence, he heard Sharon's sleepy, "Rusty?"

"Morning, Mom," he told her and smiled at his joke.

She lifted herself up and leaned against the back of the couch now, not letting go of Andy's hand or pulling her arm out from behind him. "What time is it?" she asked looking at Andy now.

He just shrugged and gave Rusty a look. He quickly answered, "Almost midnight."

She groaned and rolled her neck making both Rusty and Andy chuckle. "Not comfy," Rusty said, giving Andy an amused smile.

Andy let his head fall back on the back of the couch briefly, and when he lifted it again, he, too rolled his neck.

He dropped a kiss to the side of Sharon's head then and pulled his arm out from behind her back, where it got stuck when she sat up. "Come on," he tugged on the hand he was still holding and started getting to his feet.

Rusty took another step back. "I'm off to bed then." He turned around and made for his room.

"Wait," Sharon suddenly said, more alert now. "I thought you were staying with Gus tonight?" she asked when Rusty turned around. He had almost reached the hallway. She was standing next to Andy now, who was fumbling with the TV remote. They've managed to keep hold of each other's hands and had switched sides.

He sighed. Even half asleep she needed to know everything. "Somebody got sick at work so Gus got stuck with an early shift tomorrow." He was glad his disappointment didn't seep into his voice. Gus was supposed to have the day off tomorrow, but they called him a couple of hours ago to ask if he could fill in, so they had to cancel their plans.

But when Sharon gave him a long look, he thought she probably heard it, or saw it, or whatever else seemed to give him away so that she always knew absolutely everything about him. She made no additional comment though, she only said, "Oh, okay, goodnight then."

"Goodnight," he turned towards his room and heard Andy bidding him goodnight, too. Halfway down the hall he remembered he left his bag next to the front door, so he turned around to fetch it before Sharon could get on his case about leaving stuff lying around again.

Sharon's "Let's go to bed," had him lift his head up just as he started bending down to pick up his bag, and he simply couldn't help but pull a face at the sight that greeted him when his eyes landed on her, or them. Honestly, there was nothing awful about what he saw, but it just wasn't something he was comfortable witnessing. Maybe what made him uncomfortable was that it sometimes felt like he was intruding on certain intimate moments. He knew Sharon would assure him he never was or would be intruding on them, but the feeling was simply there sometimes, he couldn't help it.

Sharon and Andy had moved to stand in front of the end table next to the couch and they had their arms wrapped around each other's waists. He heard Andy mumble, "Okay," and saw him press his lips to his mother's forehead in a rather lingering kiss. She closed her eyes and hummed contentedly.

When they started pulling apart, Rusty quickly bent down so as to not get caught staring and reached for his bag. When he straightened up, Sharon had noticed him and given him a questioning look. They were no longer embraced, but each had an arm around the other. "Forgot my bag," he mumbled and turned to walk down the hallway again, leaving them behind.

Seriously, there was absolutely nothing wrong with any of it. They were a couple. Couples hug, hold hands, kiss and... He shook his head. He didn't need to go there. But it was all perfectly _normal_ , he thought as he entered his room.

Only, that was _Sharon_ , his mother, adoptive mother, sure, but in all the ways that mattered, she was his mom.

And it wasn't like he wasn't happy for her. He really was, she was still the same Sharon, only happier and more relaxed. She smiled a lot more lately and that alone made him happy for her.

But come on, who didn't feel just a little bit awkward about seeing his mom like that, with her, he mentally groaned, boyfriend?

That was perfectly normal, too. "Right?" he worriedly asked his empty room.

* * *

 ** _Just an attempt at getting into Rusty's head. Does it make any sense?_**


	14. N

Nightmare

"So, care to tell me how your _date_ went?"

They were on their way to Mr. Greggs' house, Andy was driving, and Provenza, who simply couldn't take it anymore, failed miserably at posing the question as casually as originally planned. His voice went up giving away both his curiosity and his annoyance. Curiosity mixed with a bit of hope that it went well and annoyance due to the fact that Andy hadn't spilled his guts yet. There was probably a bit of impatience in his tone as well.

It didn't throw Andy, however. He just smirked and gave his partner a short, almost rehearsed, "Nope."

Truth be told, he had expected an interrogation and had already braced himself for a proper grilling, but he had been expecting it maybe even on the night of the date itself, so if there was anything surprising about Provenza's question at all, it was that it took him this long to actually ask it.

"You've been calling each other 'Captain' and 'Lieutenant'." Provenza turned in his seat to pin his partner with a look, that, combined with his tone of voice, basically screamed "What the hell is up with that?"

Andy shook his head, "Well, I _am_ a Lieutenant and Sharon _is_ a Captain," he said matter-of-factly. He knew Provenza would catch on to it, and was prepared for this line of questioning.

"Aha!" Provenza pointed a finger at him. "So it's still Sharon!"

Andy rolled his eyes. "The Captain's name _is_ Sharon, Provenza." He sounded more annoyed than he actually was. In fact, he was thoroughly enjoying pulling his partner's chain. It was still as fun as ever.

"You're an idiot," Provenza huffed and turned in his seat, facing the windshield again. "She's been calling you Andy for nearly two years." He shook his head incredulously.

"Because that's _my_ name." Andy quipped, and shot his partner an amused grin.

"Would you stop it?" Provenza yelled at him, slanting him an angry look.

"You started it, old man." Andy shrugged, grin still in place.

"You know about Patrice! Why won't you tell me about the C-" he stopped and corrected himself, "Sharon?"

Andy threw him an incredulous look, his practiced cool, calm and collected demeanor suddenly vanishing, "I know about Patrice?" He all but yelled the question. "You kept her hidden under a rock for months!" This he shouted.

"No, I didn't," Provenza said defensively and folded his arms. "Besides, that's different."

Andy threw his hands in the air, letting go of the steering wheel for a second, and shot Provenza another incredulous look. But when he spoke he sounded calmer. "Yeah, it _is_ different. I'm _not_ hiding Sharon."

Provenza turned his head to look at him again, eyes going wide, and, now much calmer, too, asked, "It went well then?"

Andy's face scrunched into a short painful grimace, he didn't mean to spill the beans. It really wasn't a secret, even if Sharon would have liked to keep it under wraps until it was all official. But no, that wasn't it, torturing Provenza was just too much fun for it to end so soon. And, to make matters worse, his fun was only cut short because once again he managed to lose his temper with him.

He sighed and turned his own attention to the man next to him. They were at a red light. "Yes, it went well, alright?" And before Provenza could even gear up for a smartass retort or something, he continued. "Look, Taylor's not in town, and we have to report this, so we're just keeping it on the down low until he's back."

Provenza's eyes grew wide again. Surprised that the date went well? Andy couldn't tell until he spoke. "Report it?" Provenza rolled his eyes. "Of course she'd want to report it." He rolled his eyes again.

Andy's voice went up, he was back to sounding annoyed, for real this time. "What?" The light turned green and he started driving again. "She has to! Those are the rules!" His voice went even higher and he punctuated the words by hitting the steering wheel.

"Ye Gods," Provenza threw his head back and closed his eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to the cars in front of them. "She already has you wrapped around her little finger," he let out on a sigh, shaking his head.

"Oh, shut up," Andy grumbled. "I'd like to date her, but I'd also like to keep my job." An agitated frown settled on his face.

Provenza's head snapped back to Andy. "You can lose your job over this?"

Andy shrugged his shoulders, "Well, no, I don't think so. I mean, unless we really screw up, I guess. And even then I'd only have to transfer, I think. It's policy or something, to report it. There are no rules against it though." He waved a hand through the air. "You just gotta report it."

There was a note of worry in Provenza's voice, "Screw up?" He was still staring at him.

"Look," Andy waved his hand again, but kept his eyes on the road, "we're just reporting it to keep it all by the book at work, and that's it. What's the big deal anyway?" He slanted Provenza a look, "It's not like it has anything to do with you!"

Provenza finally tore his gaze away from him, settling it in front of him again. "The date went really well then," he mumbled.

Andy smiled, "Yeah, you could say that." He had no intention of gracing him with any particulars of it.

Provenza suddenly changed topics. "I did not hide Patrice, for God's sake, we're moving in together."

Andy laughed at him and gave him a sarcastic, "Yeah, sure." He then threw his partner a quick look. "Speaking of moving in, dropping your stuff off at Sharon's condo? Really?"

"What?" Provenza gave him a puzzled look. "Did she say something?" Suddenly he was flustered, worried even. "She didn't say anything to me. Besides, the stuff should be on its way out by now."

Provenza worrying about the possible wrath of Sharon Raydor? That was a first. And it had Andy chuckling, only barely containing a full blown fit of laughter. "She'll say something, don't you worry," he assured him.

Provenza rubbed a hand over his face and slumped in his seat. "Oh, my God, you two dating..." He groaned. "It's not even official yet, and it's already turning into a nightmare for me."

Andy wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at his partner again. "Oh, we're just getting started," he said and finally burst out laughing.

With one last, slightly exaggerated groan, Provenza said, "I just might have to retire now."

* * *

 _ **Just a short bit I'd love to have seen between these two in 4x06. What do you think?**_


	15. O

Okay?

When she arrived home that day, she found Andy lying on her couch, propped up on a pillow, watching TV. Rusty was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi," she offered with a smile as she dropped her things on the coat rack and slipped off her heels.

Andy turned his head to get a look at her and mumbled a "Hey," in response.

"Where's Rusty?" she asked softly, making her way into the living room.

Andy sat up, and patted the now free spot next to him. "He went to his room," he glanced at his watch, "some 20 minutes ago."

She gladly took the offered seat and gave him a kiss. "Hi," she repeated her earlier greeting when they pulled apart. "How are you feeling?"

"Hi," he said, smiling as he stole another quick kiss before answering, "Better." He leaned against the back of the couch.

She considered him and his answer for a moment, and, deciding he was telling the truth, leaned back as well. "I texted him earlier," she said.

He gave her a puzzled look, "To tell him to go to his room?" His voice went up in confusion.

"Of course not," she practically scolded him, giving his thigh a light pat. "I told him about Jack and that I'd be home later than planned," she had already talked to Andy on the phone, when Provenza and her had to come clean to Taylor, "I think he's giving us space."

"Hmm," he rubbed his chin, "or he's just being awkward again."

Rusty had been awkward around the two of them, especially since Andy's been staying with them, even if he was the one to offer Andy his room. He was more than understanding about the whole ordeal, including the latest developments, but he cringed at them or rolled his eyes at them at the most innocent of exchanges. He wasn't against them, she knew, he was simply uncomfortable and was yet to figure out how to deal with them being together. That being said, she would, and Andy would, too, appreciate it if he would hurry up. It was already starting to grate on both of their nerves and, even though neither one of them would confront Rusty with it, for a whole host of reasons, for now at least, it would be nice to no longer have to be painfully aware of Rusty's discomfort when he was around them. They could ignore him only so much.

"Perhaps a little bit of both," she let her gaze fall on the hallway leading to Rusty's room and she got up to her feet. "I'll go check on him."

"Sure," Andy turned his attention back to the TV. He wanted to throw an arm over the backrest of the couch but he winced in pain at the attempt. His ribs were still not at a 100%.

She noticed and stopped, instantly worried, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," he waved her off. "I keep forgetting I shouldn't be doing this," he tried to lift his arm again in demonstration, but stopped before the movement could send another jolt of pain through him.

She regarded him for another moment and, deciding he was indeed okay, or as okay as he could be given the circumstances, said, "I'll be right back." She then turned around and made her way to Rusty's room.

When she knocked, Rusty's quiet "Come in," soon followed and she opened the door but didn't step inside. Instead, she leaned a shoulder against the door frame and folded her arms.

"You're home," he told her, turning around to look at her.

"I am," she nodded and smiled. He was sitting at his desk, busy with something on his laptop. "Are you working on your vlog?"

"Uh, yeah, kind of." He frowned before continuing, his focus apparently split between whatever he was working on and her. "Andy," a brief smile passed her features at his use of his first name, "gave me a bit of advice about Slider," he shrugged, "and it turned out to be pretty useful."

She hummed, nodding her head. "Good. Have you had anything to eat?"

Rusty rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom." He gave her a pointed look as he dragged the sentence out.

She gave him an amused smile. It always warmed her heart to hear him call her mom, even if he did it in jest.

"Andy, too," he added, knowing she would ask about him next.

"Good," she nodded and turned to take her leave.

"Sharon?" Rusty called before she could close the door.

She popped her head back in, "Yes?"

"Is he going to be okay?" He seemed unsure of the question.

She offered him a small smile but her eyes focused on a random spot on the floor as she considered his question. "It _is_ serious," she focused her gaze on her son again, "but, yes, I think so." She shrugged and added, "I hope so."

He gave her a long look and nodded in understanding and her worry must have shown on her face because he said, a bit hesitantly, "I'll be in my room till dinner," he cocked his head behind him in the direction of the living room, "in case you two need to talk."

She smiled and said "Okay," before pulling back and closing the door behind her. She could have argued that there really was no need for him to hide out in his room, but she actually could use a moment. Besides, she wasn't sure Rusty would have even given in if she tried convincing him otherwise.

Andy tore his gaze away from the TV and settled it on Sharon when he heard her approach. "The kid alright?"

She nodded and reclaimed her place next to him, relaxing into the cushioned back of her couch. "I was right," she informed him.

He gave her another puzzled look, but said confidently, "You always are." He grinned and raised an eyebrow as if to ask her to elaborate, but before she could, a light bulb went on. "Oh, he's giving us space?" he asked incredulously.

She scooted closer to him and rested her head, carefully, against his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his. Only when he made no complaint did she fully relax and start stroking her thumb in a gentle caress over the inside of his wrist beneath his watch. "He thinks we should talk." The soft voice in which she spoke told him she agreed.

He dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "Then talk."

She let out a soft laugh but when she finally started talking, her tone of voice was serious, "I'm sorry. If I had known that Emily wou-"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted her, grabbing ahold of her free hand. "I'm not happy about it," he gave her hand a squeeze, "but I'll survive."

"Still," she started but he cut her off again.

"Look," he shrugged, "the team would have probably found out eventually." When she seemed to gear up for another argument, he pressed on, "They _are_ a bunch of detectives, they'd have either figured it out on their own or asked often enough for Provenza to cave in and tell them."

She hummed in understanding but still didn't look the least bit convinced, so he added on a grin, "Just to shut them up." She smiled, despite shaking her head. "I'm more pissed off that Jack knows anyway," he told her on a laugh. There was truth to his words even if they were said in order to try lifting the mood.

She raised her head from his shoulder, stopping the dance of her fingers against his wrist, and looked at him. "Oh, me, too," she assured him, in a low, almost menacing voice.

"Don't worry about it," he reiterated, giving her a quick kiss.

"Have you talked to Nicole?" she asked quietly, leaning her head back against his shoulder and looking down on the hand he was still holding. She hadn't picked up when he called her the previous evening.

"Er, yeah, she called me back this morning, right after you went to work." He looked down, too. "She's worried, but I told her I'll be fine." His voice took on a rougher edge and it sounded as if he was convincing _himself_ of that as well as his daughter.

They had already more thoroughly discussed his latest health issues when she returned from work the previous day. He had given her another run down of his doctor's instructions, of his current treatment, of his options should he, God forbid, make a turn for the worse, and that had helped to ease her mind. Knowing what they were dealing with and how they would be dealing with it meant she could form a plan of approach of her own and that had calmed her, given both her _and_ Andy at least some semblance of control. However, her next words were an admission to something she hadn't been ready to voice up until now because it meant admitting to just how little control either one of them really had over this situation they suddenly found themselves in. "I'm worried, too." She looked up at him. When he met her gaze she continued, her voice thick with emotion, "This is serious."

"Yeah," he said gruffly, rubbing a finger against his temple. "Scary, too," he added.

"Terrifying," she confirmed. Her gaze did not waver as she looked at him, but her eyes glossed over with tears. "I don't know," she started, and the way her breath hitched sent another jolt of pain through him. It was slightly different than earlier, but no more bearable. "If something-"

"Hey," he interrupted and squeezed her hand again, trying to shake her out of her train of thoughts, "I'm on those meds and I'm here, and you are, or Rusty, or Patrice." He offered her a reassuring smile. "I'm doing what the doc said I should do. I'll be up and running again in no time," he shrugged.

"You'd better be," she ordered him, a weak smile crossing her features. She looked down at their joined hands and started running a thumb over his knuckles. "You had better be," she repeated, more softly, more worriedly now.

He stayed quiet and regarded her for a moment. He hated being the source of her worries, he hated being worried himself and he hated not being able to really do anything but wait it all out until the damn clot, hopefully, broke down. Neither one of them expected to have to deal with something like this at this stage of their relationship, especially considering the pace she set for them, and he could kick himself for putting her in a situation he worried might be a bit too much for her. She wasn't complaining though and she decided to be there for him without hesitation, that alone spoke volumes, but he still couldn't wait until all of this was over and they could go back to normal, where things weren't forced on them like this.

Not knowing how else to offer either one of them any comfort, he tugged on her hand and untangled his arm from her hold, opening it to invite her for a hug. She started following his tug, but then stopped abruptly, "Andy, your bruises. No hugs."

He tugged on her hand again, "You need a hug, I'll survive the little bit of pain." When she finally gave in and leaned in, snaking her arms around him, he wrapped his own around her. "Besides, I could use one, too," he added, tightening his grip on her.

When she let out a shuddering sigh, he knew she was trying to keep her tears of worry at bay. He rubbed a hand over her back, "I don't plan on dying any time soon." He smiled against her hair as he pressed another kiss into it.

"That is not funny." She was serious and not in the mood for jokes, but the way she mumbled the words, face buried in his shirt, had him chuckling anyway, but only briefly since his ribs quickly protested in pain.

After a few more steadying breaths she loosened her grip on him and started pulling away. He reluctantly let go, but had to admit he could breathe more easily once her weight lifted off his chest.

He reached for her hand again when she settled back next to him. "Will you be okay?" he asked, knowing it was a superfluous question.

She gave him a look, and although the tears in them were gone, there was still a touch of sadness and worry in her eyes. When she spoke, it was in a quiet, thick voice, "Will you?"

* * *

 ** _Sorry for the abrupt end, but I had to stop somewhere. Oh, and, in case it wasn't clear, this is an add-on to 4x12._**


	16. P

_**The following story is probably the least realistic one I've written so far. I've tried really hard to stay in character though. I've been in a playful mood all day and it kind of took over my writing. Hope you'll indulge me and enjoy it anyway. :)**_

* * *

Put Him Out of His Misery

Provenza had been ignoring him for days now. He checked in on him to see how his recovery was going but other than that, Provenza was blatantly ignoring him and his question.

Andy had called him, had texted him, had even asked Sharon about it, but she would just smile at him and keep mum. Not even the rest of the team or Rusty would budge. Although he wasn't really sure any of them knew either. It wasn't like Provenza to shout the news, if there were any, from the rooftops.

He had hoped to find out once Patrice came by. But they had somehow managed to cover his need for a babysitter with either Rusty or Sharon, so they never needed Patrice to come over at all. He even considered just popping into work to see the man, but Sharon wouldn't hear of it. He was still recovering and officially banned from the murder room. Or so she told him.

So when he was finally allowed, not only to return to work, but also to live on his own, he knew that would be the end of Provenza's stubborn ignoring. The moment he stepped foot into the murder room, he zeroed in on his partner, intent on getting an answer. Fortunately, it was still early and the rest of the team hadn't arrived yet. Sharon had, but she went straight to her office anyway.

He had planned on a different approach, but when his eyes landed on Provenza it was like a button was pushed and he was instantly agitated.

"Why the hell are you ignoring me?!"

Provenza didn't even look up at him. He simply remained focused on the crossword puzzle that was in front of him on his desk. But after a moment or two of some more blatant ignoring, he finally said, "Good morning to you, too, sunshine."

The indignant manner in which he spoke only riled Andy more up. "You can't possibly still be mad at me about that!" he practically shouted. But then a horrifying thought crossed his mind and his eyes grew wide. "Unless she said no?" he suddenly whispered.

That caught Provenza's attention and his head snapped up and he directed his ire at Andy in full force. "Of course she didn't say no!" He didn't bother whispering. He was shouting more loudly than Andy had been a few moments ago.

A happy grin spread over Andy's face. "So she said yes."

It wasn't a question, but Provenza deemed it fit for an answer anyway. When he started speaking though, he seemed almost timid and started fiddling with the corner of a page of his crossword puzzle. "Well, not exactly."

This had Andy's eyebrows shoot up, but Provenza rambled on before he could ask anything. "I mean she did, later, but-" He must have realized that he was oversharing because he snapped his mouth shut all of a sudden and fixed his partner with another irritated look. "Of course she said yes!" he said, not shouting this time, but annoyed nonetheless.

"Whoa, whoa," Andy narrowed his eyes at him and put his palms up, "what do you mean 'not exactly'?" he imitated the last two words.

Provenza turned back to his puzzle, turning his chair, too, as if to keep Andy out of even his _peripheral_ view. "Nothing," he mumbled.

Andy risked leaning against Provenza's desk. "What are you not telling me?" He really couldn't believe his ears, or eyes. Was Provenza actually trying to _hide_ from him?

"Oh, alright," Provenza grumbled and turned to look pointedly at Andy's hands before lifting his gaze up to his face.

Andy heeded his warning and straightened up again. If he gave in this fast, it must really be _something_ , Andy thought.

"Well, I kind of avoided her once you let the cat out of the bag," Provenza started, giving him an angry look.

"Yeah?" Andy prodded, crossing his arms. That didn't exactly surprise him.

"And she found me at work and, uh, long story short," Provenza looked down at his puzzle again, "she kind of proposed before I could." He let out the last part of his sentence so quickly that Andy could barely make it out.

When he did though, he burst out laughing, which only earned him another angry glare from Provenza. "So that's what got your panties in a bunch?"

Provenza ignored the jab. "I proposed later at dinner, popped the question, ring and all," he cut himself off and seemed to collect himself. "Either way I'm an engaged man now," he assured him with a satisfied nod.

Andy laughed again. "Well, however it happened," he slapped the man on the back, "congratulations!"

"Thanks," Provenza mumbled.

Andy considered finally taking a seat behind his desk, but instead he crossed his arms again, his curiosity getting the better of him. "She really asked _you_ to marry _her_?" He had to know just what exactly 'kind of' meant.

Provenza leaned back in his chair and slanted Andy another angry look, but he was more grumpy than angry when he replied. "She didn't say the words per se." He tilted his head, looking away, and shrugged his shoulders. "But she might as well have." He looked up. "She said she was looking forward to that missed dinner. She all but told me I _should_ propose!" He sounded almost offended.

Andy just shook his head and started laughing again as he made his way to his desk. "Provenza talked into a proposal... that's a first," he waved a hand through the air but before Provenza could come up with a retort, Julio and Amy entered the murder room, effectively putting an end to their little talk.

They greeted Andy with a "Welcome back," just as he dropped into his chair.

He only managed to mumble a happy "Good to be back." when his phone got his attention.

He took it out and noticed a text from Sharon.

 _Sharon_ , who was _behind_ _him in her office_.

The message read, "Did she say yes?"

He instantly jumped to his feet and walked into her office. He didn't bother knocking and he ignored the surprised looks his reaction earned him from his co-workers. The moment the door snapped shut, he opened his mouth and spoke in an accusatory tone, pointing a finger at her. "You didn't know?!"

She was sitting behind her desk, hands neatly folded on top of it, and she only smiled before replying. If she was startled by his uninvited appearance, she hid it well. "It was not my place to ask either one of them and neither one of them said anything." She shrugged a shoulder, "And I haven't seen Patrice either so," she pinned Andy with a carefully curious look, "what's the verdict?"

Andy's hand fell to his side and he just stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. He had been sure she knew. What with the secretive smiles and all, and now _this_. She was yanking his chain? He should just not say anything now either, give her a taste of her own medicine. But then again-

"Andy?" her worried voice snapped him out of his musings.

"Huh?" was all he could say. How on Earth could she not have known?

Before either one of them could say anything more, they heard a knock. Andy shot the door an impatient glare as if scolding it for the interruption, but Sharon merely politely said, "Come in."

When the door opened and Provenza entered, she offered him a smile.

Now, that wasn't that unusual. What stupefied Andy was _Provenza's_ smile. Coherent words were far away from his mind at the moment though, so Andy couldn't do much more than just gape at the two.

"May I put him out of his misery, Lieutenant?" She focused on Provenza with an expectant look on her face, which seemed to signal that anything short of an answer in the affirmative would be unacceptable. The look did little to help pull Andy out of his befuddled state.

But Provenza regarded his partner for a moment first. When he returned his gaze to the Captain he spoke in an unusually high tone of voice. "Oh, well, better not risk it anymore," he twirled a hand in the air, "his blood pressure and all that."

Sharon stood up and rounded her desk, slanting Provenza a bland look. "That is not funny, Lieutenant," she said, admonishing him.

"Oh, but it is," Provenza laughed, but quickly sobered when she gave him another more intimidating look.

At long last, Andy managed to regain his ability of speech, "Are you kidding me?" he asked, first looking at Provenza, then at Sharon. If he sounded agitated, it was nowhere close to showing how he was _actually_ feeling.

They were in on it. Sharon and Provenza. His Captain and her second in command. Those two. He looked between them, utter bewilderment on his face. How did he not see this coming? He knew how. He didn't think Sharon had it in her to be like, he shuddered at the thought, Provenza.

She put a hand on his chest, and trailed a path down his tie as if to lessen the blow. "I'm afraid we are," she told him seriously. She kept a straight face but Provenza couldn't keep the smug look off of his.

"Why?" he asked feebly and blinked a few times at her. He could understand Provenza. He wouldn't be _Provenza_ if he didn't aim for payback. But Sharon? How the hell did _she_ get on board with all of this? She had a wicked sense of humor, but he never took her for a prankster. He also knew she could put on a mean poker face, but if he really was on the receiving end of a practical joke, he'd say she just took even that to a whole new level, at least if their earlier exchange was anything to go by.

She smiled softly at him, and there was a hint of mischief in her expression. However, when she spoke, her smile was gone, her face turned more serious and her voice sounded almost authoritative, "Andy" she started and gave him a long look, "have you met me?" He was obviously supposed to say "Yes."

He stared at her for a moment though. Why would she care about Provenza's engagement? It was Provenza, there was nothing special about it. He proposed every couple of years anyway. Why would she, of all people, help him in his little revenge scheme? But then the word 'special' crossed his mind again and his eyes widened in sudden realization.

He slanted a look at Provenza. He had leaned back against her desk, arms folded across his chest, a smirk on his face, and was thoroughly enjoying the show. Andy frowned at him and then let his gaze fall on the woman in front of him. He looked down until his eyes found the hand that still had ahold of his tie. "Really, Sharon?" he asked her, a note of disbelief in his voice.

She gave him a searching look. When she found whatever she was looking for, she simply said, "Really," letting go of his tie and taking a step back.

Andy just shook his head, still trying to wrap his head around whatever just happened, and chuckled.

"That's it?" Provenza suddenly asked, pulling Andy out of his renewed reverie. He pushed himself off her desk. "Really?" he repeated, looking between the two.

"Well, I _have_ met her," Andy informed him, a smirk on his own face now.

Sharon shook her head at them in amusement before walking back to her chair, while Provenza just huffed. "Unbelievable," he said as he walked toward her office door, rolling his eyes.

"Wait," Andy suddenly called after him before he could open it. "That proposal? You didn't make that up, right?" He waved a hand toward Provenza's desk.

"No," Provenza let the word out on a sigh. "I didn't mean to spill my guts like that," he shook his head in disbelief, "but yes, that _did_ happen."

Sharon gave the two a questioning look at that, but Provenza ignored it. Instead he nodded his head at her and offered her a "Thank you, Captain," before letting himself out of her office, soundly closing the door behind him.

She turned her focus on Andy instead.

He waved her off, "Long story, I'll tell you later."

She gave it a moment's thought, and said, "Okay." She then dropped her gaze on the pile of papers in front of her, obviously believing the discussion to be over.

Andy however, instead of making his way out of her office like his partner just had, took a few steps forwards and leaned on one of the chairs in front of her desk. "You _tortured_ ," he made sure to carefully enunciate the word, "me because of your _sense of occasion_?" He was still reeling from the revelation.

It didn't faze her though. She just offered him a broad smile, turned her chair slightly and quirked an eyebrow at him. "You already know I like weddings."

She was clearly about to say more but he didn't let her finish. "And, of course, you just love proposals!" he practically groaned.

"That would be correct, Andy." Her voice was neutral, but her tight smile and slight crinkling of the corners of her eyes made him think she was fighting a smirk. She was definitely thoroughly enjoying the show, too. If he dared, he would use the word 'smug' to describe her.

Instead he looked heavenward and started for the door. "My first day back at work and this," he waved his hands through the air, "is the welcome I get?" he grumbled.

Just as he closed the door behind him, he heard her soft laughter which put a grin on his face. And it only widened when he saw his partner roll his eyes at him again.

His first day back at work wasn't that bad, after all.

* * *

 _ **Hit the reviews, please! I'm dying to hear what you think!**_


	17. Q

Questions

"Sharon Beck, huh?"

He was driving back from the morgue, they were on their way to the murder room and Andy directed the question at Sharon, who was in the passenger seat next to him, leafing through a folder in her lap.

She lifted her head and gave him a look. "Sharon Beck," she confirmed, nodding.

"You mentioned rehab?" He frowned a bit and his voice went slightly up with the curiosity in it, but he didn't look at her, focusing on the road in front of him instead.

"Yes, in Long Beach," she settled her gaze on the cars in front of them. "Rusty's visited her a couple of times," she added.

There was something in her voice he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he tried to guess, "And you didn't know about it?"

"No," she said sadly, on a quiet sigh, "I've suspected that something was up, but I-" she interrupted herself to give him another look, "But he told Lieutenant Provenza." She tilted her head and only barely shrugged a shoulder as if to say, "So, that's good."

Andy nodded. That obviously wasn't what she originally wanted to say, but he decided to leave it at that. "Oh, that's why he took a personal day," he said instead.

It wasn't a question but she offered a "Yes." in confirmation anyway.

"Let me guess, she reached the making amends part of her rehab?" If there was a bit of sarcasm in his voice, he hadn't planned on it.

"It would seem so," she said, a slightly higher pitch to her voice. She was looking at her folder again, but seemed to be thinking about something else entirely.

He slanted her a look. He couldn't really tell if Sharon Beck was what still had her distracted or if she was maybe back to musing over their case. She had a tendency of suddenly jumping from one topic to another, depending on whether she wanted to discuss either one of them any more, and he was yet to learn to keep up with her train of thought. "Something on your mind, Captain?" he decided to ask.

That made her look up again and she offered a faint smile, "Questions, Lieutenant." She didn't elaborate.

He frowned again, wondering whether to ask or just leave it be. He knew that, if it was about the case, she would not be hesitating, but his curiosity and maybe even a bit of worry, got the better of him, so he gave her a quick look before carefully asking, "Such as?"

She shook her head, but answered, more focused now, "Well, it's only one question really." She pinned the side of his head with a look, "How did she end up in rehab?"

"Oh," he nodded. It was a valid question, but rather than giving her an answer, he deliberated on posing a question of his own for a second. "Does it matter?" he finally said, scratching an eyebrow and briefly meeting her gaze before continuing, "I mean," he waved a hand, "as long as she sticks to it?"

"It doesn't," she admitted, looking away again. "But 'voluntary rehab' has a better ring to it than 'sentenced to rehab', don't you think?"

He half chuckled, half scoffed, "I guess it does."

"Besides," she spoke more to herself than him, if the far away look on her face he caught a glimpse of was anything to go by, "she must have opted for rehab either way."

"And as long as she goes through with it..." Andy started, waving a hand through the air, letting the sentence drop.

"Exactly," she nodded, her _voice_ sounding far away now as well, and she turned her attention to her folder again.

He didn't have much time to figure out where her thoughts went to this time, when, after a moment of silence, she spoke again. "I worry," she admitted.

He smiled and looked at her. "You always do, Sharon."

She looked back at him, smiling briefly in return. "He's excited and I _am_ happy for him. But a stint in rehab is not a quick fix."

"The kid knows that," he assured her gruffly and she could only hum in response.

They left it at that and didn't talk anymore until they got out of the car and reached the elevators that would take them to their division's floor.

He called for the elevator. "I bet he's nervous." Andy was the one to speak first. He slanted a grin at Sharon, whose eyes were fixed firmly on the elevator doors. "Captain Sharon Raydor meets the infamous Sharon Beck," he added on a chuckle, but there was an ominous ring to his words.

She smiled, albeit briefly, too, and looked at him. "Explains why he enlisted Lieutenant Provenza's help, doesn't it?" There was a note of humor in her voice, but also something else. Something Andy decided to label as challenge.

He latched onto her humor, however and laughed. One does not challenge Sharon Raydor, he knew that much. "Poor Provenza." Making fun of Rusty was the safer road, he decided.

"Mhm," she hummed and smiled again. She grew more serious though when she added, "It's a good thing that he did though." When Andy gave her a puzzled look, she clarified, "He's trusting enough to ask for help."

"Right." He should have guessed that she would see it that way.

The doors opened and they entered the elevator. It was empty.

"I bet he's pacing a hole in the floor upstairs," Andy said as he pressed the button that would get them moving. He nodded his head in the direction of their floor.

"I'm sure he is." She sounded slightly amused. "He'll want to prepare me for the meeting, too," she added, quirking an eyebrow at him. Yes, she was definitely amused and he took it for a good sign.

But the closer they got to their floor, the more serious she grew again. He could tell she was mentally steeling herself for not only her meeting with Sharon Beck, but for dealing with Rusty as well.

"Good luck," he said sincerely when they reached their floor and without any stops along the way.

She only managed to offer a quiet "Thank you," before the doors opened.

The moment they did, Rusty's nervous and eager face greeted them.

Sharon and Andy exchanged one last, knowing look before she quickly adopted an impassive, maybe even carefully optimistic one, and turned her focus on her foster son. But Andy couldn't help the shake of his head, or the amused grin that crossed his face as they started following the already rambling Rusty on their way to the murder room. The kid was bursting with nervous energy.

It's gonna be an interesting meeting, he thought as the two disappeared into the super cubicle.

* * *

 _ **Just a little added scene to 3x02. It always bugged me how Andy was suddenly included in the whole Sharon Beck ordeal, taking Rusty for breakfast in 3x03, then discussing that prescription in 3x04 with Raydor. Sure, he's an alcoholic so it makes sense, and we knew from 3x01 that Shandy got closer, but we never saw how Andy offering advice started. It was implied, I think, that Shandy did talk about Sharon Beck before, what with the way, in 3x04, Sharon R. showed Andy the prescription from inside her office and that faint shake of her head at him as she exited it to focus on the case first, before discussing it and all, but we never really saw on screen how all of that started.**_

 _ **So I decided to fill in what I felt was a bit of a blank there, like a missing step. In my head, maybe this is how it started.**_

 _ **And as always, thanks for reading! Your reviews give me life!**_


	18. R

Reaction

He found him in the break room. He was pacing and clutching an open bag of chips. He suspected there were more crumbles in it now than actual chips.

He opened the door and let himself in. "Lieutenant Flynn?" he asked quietly, knowing that any other kind of approach might set him off even more.

Andy did not stop pacing. He merely waved his empty hand at Julio as if to wave him off, "I'm fine, you don't have to check up on me." Despite his pacing he spoke in a calm manner, but his anger was still almost palpable.

Julio leaned with his back against the door and folded his arms. "With all due respect, sir, you don't look fine."

That had Andy whirl around to pin Julio with an angry glare. "Of course I'm not fine!" He waved the hand holding the bag through the air, accidentally throwing stray chips through the air in the process, too. "That dirtbag," he waved his other hand in the general direction of the interview room Slider was sitting in, "killed a girl in cold blood, and Hobbs is offering second-degree murder?" His voice went higher the closer he got to the end of his sentence. He turned around to put the bag of chips down on the counter, but quickly turned around to face Julio again. "I mean, really?!"

"Yeah, that sucks." Julio said. He spoke quietly, but that did little to conceal the anger, similar to Andy's, in his voice.

"You don't say, Julio," Andy huffed and flopped down into a chair.

Julio took a seat as well, across from the Lieutenant. They stayed quiet, with Andy looking stubbornly at his hands, which he spread out over the table. Julio could tell he was trying hard to get his temper under control and decided not to interrupt him.

"Fifteen." Andy finally broke the silence of nearly 10 minutes. He sounded calmer, resigned to admitting an awful truth, and Julio thought there was even a hint of tenderness in the way he said the word.

"Just a kid," he confirmed gravely.

"We don't even know her name," Andy carried on, shaking his head in disappointment. Anger and sadness coated his voice equally.

"Yet," Julio told him. If his voice didn't sound determined, then his face most certainly looked like it.

"Yet," Andy reiterated, finally lifting his gaze.

"We can-" Julio started, but Andy suddenly jumped to his feet and headed for the door.

By the time Julio could react, Andy was out of the break room.

He scrambled to his feet and went after him, not sure what the source of the Lieutenant's renewed agitation was.

He heard her before he saw her as he reached Andy, who was clearly gearing up for another bout of shouting. "Hold your horses, Lieutenant!" Andrea was holding her palms up in surrender.

"You're k-" Andy did start shouting, but snapped his mouth shut when the Captain rounded the corner. Julio couldn't suppress the smirk that crossed his face. It's been a while since he'd seen him like this, pissed off like this, but when it did happen, it usually took more than an appearance of his superior officer to shut him up. He had to hand it to the Captain, he didn't really know how she did it, but somehow she always managed to easily keep them in check, whether she issued an order, gave them a look of warning or, like now, simply made an appearance. He himself wasn't imune to it one bit and it was rather satisfying to see that the Lieutenant wasn't either.

However she did it, it gave Andrea the perfect opportunity to explain herself. "I've bumped it up to murder in the first, Lieutenant," she spoke calmly, but sounded almost as angry as Andy.

Andy frowned, then gave her a puzzled look. Julio could tell when her words sunk in, because when they did, Andy relaxed instantly. "What made you change your mind?" He sounded as confused as he looked.

Sharon, who had reached them in the meantime, and was now standing next to the district attorney, carefully eyeing both Andy and Julio, who were standing next to one another, answered in her stead, "We don't think Alice is trash." Her voice was ice cold, laced with a kind of venom that caught Julio off guard. And if he read Andy's raised eyebrows correctly, he was rather surprised, too. It was not a tone of voice their Captain used often, if ever.

Andy was about to ask for clarification, Julio assumed, but he beat him to it. He squeezed his hands that he was holding behind his back as he asked, "Did he agree to the deal, Ma'am?"

He directed his question at the Captain, but Andrea answered. She hung her head and replied on a sigh, "No, we're going to trial." She looked at Sharon, who nodded her head, before adding, "Waiting for his lawyer now."

Andy took in a deep breath, and for a brief moment, Julio worried that he was about to explode in another fit of temper, even the Captain, if only fractionally, seemed to tense up, but when the Lieutenant spoke, his voice was soft and quiet.

"I want to hold a service for her," was all he said, but his face seemed to speak volumes. Julio recognized anger and frustration, but primarily, there was sorrow there.

The Captain seemed to have immediately understood what kind of service the Lieutenant was talking about. Julio had barely processed the words, when she took a step forward and put a hand on the side of the Lieutenant's arm. When she spoke, her voice was equally soft. She even smiled briefly. "I think that's an excellent idea, Andy."

Andy nodded, but looked slightly surprised at her for a second. "Okay," he said roughly once his surprise receded, and nodded again.

"Come on," the Captain took her hand back and nodded her head in the direction of her office, inviting both Hobbs and the Lieutenant with a look.

The two understood and started walking away but, before following them, she turned to Julio. "He is taking this case rather hard."

Julio met her gaze, there was a sadness in it that made him slightly uneasy. He didn't like seeing it there. "We all are, Ma'am."

"Did he-" she started.

"Fly off the handle?" he supplied for her.

When she nodded, he shrugged and threw a quick look at the break room that was somewhere behind them. "A bag of chips was the only casualty, Captain." He said it seriously but a smile was playing at his lips. Honestly, it wasn't the first time he had dealt with one of Lieutenant Flynn's more temperamental outbursts, he was used to them. And even if his most recent reaction was one he hadn't seen in a long while, it was nothing in comparison to some of his past fits of temper.

She smiled briefly and shook her head ever so slightly.

Her thoughts seemed to have strayed for a moment, he thought, because she stopped looking at him, so he decided to excuse himself. "I'll go clean up the mess," he hooked a thumb behind him. It wasn't really a mess, but the silence didn't exactly help relieve his uneasiness.

She looked at him and nodded. "Alright, thank you, Julio."

And with that she turned around to follow Andy and Andrea into her office, letting Julio use his excuse.

* * *

 _ **3x06 is one of my favorite episodes. And the only thing that could've made it even better for me would be seeing what happened when Andy stormed out of the electronics room with Julio following him. Maybe something as simple as this? *shrugs***_


	19. S

_**Brace yourselves, silliness is coming. Set after 4x16.**_

* * *

Sharp Cookie

She had only just started relaxing, stretched out in her bed, reveling in the feeling of the tension in her back finally dissipating, when the phone vibrating on her night stand nearly made her jump out of her skin. She groaned and blindly reached for it, sending out a quiet prayer that it wasn't Provenza. She had had a really long day, she did not have the energy for a case now. She propped up against the headboard when she got hold of it and squinted at the screen. She smiled and relaxed again. It was only Andy.

"Hey," she said quietly, barely above a whisper, taking the call.

"Hi," he greeted her, "you in bed already?"

"How'd you know?" She pulled on the comforter, tucking herself in a little bit. It was a rhetorical question. Where else would she be at almost midnight?

"Lucky guess." She could tell he was smiling, probably smirking, too.

"Right," she hoped her sarcasm would not go unnoticed.

It didn't. "Nah, it's been a long day." She heard some shuffling on his end. "I'm in bed, too. " That explained the shuffling. "At long last," he added.

"I thought you were Provenza," she informed him, knowing full well what his reply would be.

"Sorry to disappoint," he immediately let out. Yes, that would be the reply. And it put another smile on her face.

"No, you're not," she accused him, but she could not hide her amusement.

She heard his laugh, and some more shuffling, she wondered why he couldn't keep still.

When the shuffling stopped, he spoke again. "So, how's the kid?"

"The _kid_ ," she rolled her eyes because she knew he couldn't see her, "is angry and worried."

"Don't roll your eyes at me," he admonished her through a chuckle.

Her eyes widened for a moment. "My voice gave me away, didn't it?" She _knew_ it did.

"That, too." he told her, and he seemed to be trying hard not to laugh again.

"Too?" she asked and quirked an eyebrow at her empty bedroom.

"I know you," he told her simply.

She hummed and shook her head. She couldn't argue with that. He did know her. Better than almost anyone else, actually.

She heard a squeak, his bed, she assumed, before he spoke again. "I warned him about lawyers, you know."

She couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure you did."

"Why is that funny?" She wished she could see the mock frown of hurt she was sure formed on his face.

"Because I know you," she shot back at him, fighting a giggle.

When he groaned in response, the giggle escaped her.

"I hoped it wouldn't come to this," she told him after a moment, when she collected herself. That Rusty could be called as a witness for sentencing had come to mind, but she still had Judge Grove's advice in the back of her mind so she decided to stay out of it. Besides, this was a project Rusty wanted to do, and would have done regardless of what misgivings she may have had about it, and now he would have to face the consequences, whether he expected them or not. Whether he _liked_ them or not. Whether _she_ liked them or not.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know." He sounded as disappointed as she felt.

When she didn't say anything else, he asked, "So, how's the mother?"

She slipped lower into her bed and smiled. Being Rusty's mother would never cease to warm her heart. "The _mother_ ," she didn't roll her eyes this time, but she made sure her inflection was the same as it had been a moment ago, "is exhausted," she let out on a sigh.

He chuckled again. "I know you, Sharon," he repeated, all but singsonging the words.

"What?" she asked, as neutrally as she possibly could.

"I know you didn't roll your eyes this time." Judging by his tone of voice, he was scolding her for the blatant attempt of deceit, but there was mirth in there as well.

"You're a sharp cookie, Lieutenant," she told him mockingly, trying to hold back her laughter.

There was another round of shuffling and his bed squeaked again, but his voice carried over the noise anyway, "Well," she imagined he shrugged his shoulders as he dragged out the word, "speaking of my exceptional investigative skills..." He ignored her chuckle. "Rusty? Really?" he said, voice going up, he was almost whining.

She pulled a straight face, not that he could see it, and, in a low, steady voice, said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure," he said sarcastically. "You know the doc cleared me for walking, working, driving, living on my own, hav-"

He was only getting started on his list so she quickly interrupted him. "Fine, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," he told her on a chuckle. "I'm more surprised that he went with your cunning plan though," he added.

She let out a chuckle as well and her voice was coated in exaggarated self-satisfaction when she told him, "I have my ways."

"Oh, I know you do," he agreed, grinning, she assumed.

"I just worry," she blurted out before she could stop herself.

She could tell he had instantly deflated because when he responded, it was in a softer, albeit slightly higher voice. "There's really nothing to worry about anymore, Sharon. I just gotta get back into shape to get cleared for the field and that's it."

She was perfectly aware of that, but that awareness still did very little to lessen her worries at the moment, especially if she thought about sending him out into the field again. It would take a bit longer for her to stop reeling from those events, including the abject fear they brought about, and she hoped that, by the time he was no longer chained to a desk, she finally would. Otherwise... Well, she hoped she would not have to cross that particular bridge at all.

There was another thought that suddenly crossed her mind and a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth, and her own voice softened when she decided to let him in on it, "I got used to you being here."

She heard some more shuffling, and this time she really couldn't hold back her curiosity, maybe a bit of annoyance, too, and she suddenly shifted gears. "What on earth are you doing? I thought you were in bed!"

He groaned, and his bed squeaked again. "I got used to being there, too," he started, and she heard a dull thump, before he continued, "but right now, I kind of miss your pillows more than you."

This threw her completely. "My pillows?" she asked, in a much higher voice than expected.

"Yeah," he told her, and with the way his voice went up, she could easily imagine his nervous habit of rubbing a hand against the back of his head, too, "ever since I started sleeping in my own bed again, I just can't seem to," he spoke through another bout of shuffling, this time she thought he was doing it on purpose, angrily even, "find a comfortable position in it."

"Oh, Andy," she couldn't contain her amused laugh. "Why didn't you say something? I'll gladly give you a pillow. I can even tell you where to get one of your own."

He grumbled his reply, and seemed rather annoyed. "Well, it only _just_ occurred to me that it might be the pillows. It can't be the mattresses," his bed squeaked again and she assumed he bounced on his mattress as if testing it, "they're practically the same. And my bed was perfectly fine _before_ the accident."

She shook with silent laughter. He was a grown man literally whining and pouting over an uncomfortable bed.

"Sharon?" he asked tentatively, "you there?"

"Um," she made an effort to pull herself together and tugged on her comforter in an attempt to focus, "I'm here."

"I'm tired." He sounded as if he was giving her a briefing and it only made her fight another fit of laughter. He really was in a mood. They both were, she realized, now that she thought about it.

"As am I," she told him, equally professionally. She moved again, to lie down completely on her back now. She really was, she thought when she felt more relief wash over her tense back muscles.

"I hate your pillows." He was still in briefing mode.

"I thought you loved them." She had no idea where he was going with this, but she was more than happy to play along.

"Well, I don't," he was back to groaning, and his voice went up again as he complained. "Or else I'd already be asleep."

"I take it back," she suddenly told him.

This seemed to throw _him_ completely. "Take what back?" he sounded almost aggravated.

"You're no sharp cookie, Lieutenant." She tried to keep the amusement out of her voice but failed miserably.

"How'd you come to that conclusion, Captain?" He was caught in between being annoyed and amused. The way he pronounced her rank was a dead giveaway.

She folded her arm under her head before speaking. "If you hadn't called your Captain," she carefully said the last word, "you might've have been asleep by now, Lieutenant."

"Okay," he sighed. "I get why you're a Captain and I'm not."

She let out a snort laugh. "I don't think that's the reason, Andy."

He just scoffed, and she heard some more shuffling.

"You're welcome to share my pillow tonight if you'd like," she offered.

"Nah, I'm too beat to drive over." He sounded almost disappointed for turning her down.

They had been past purely old-fashioned dating since only very recently, and unsurprisingly so, considering not only her own caution, but also Andy's unexpected health crisis. Admittedly, sharing a bed, if for only the most innocent of purposes at first, may have been a development that somewhat stemmed from their guilt over basically kicking Rusty out of his own bed, even if he did give it up on his own. However, it had turned out to be a development they had no difficulty getting used to or comfortable with, especially since realizing just how deeply their feelings for each other ran. So she couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed as well. And that sharing a bed started involving more than just sleeping now, certainly added to that disappointment.

"I don't have to bring you a pillow, do I?" She would if he asked her to, but she didn't really have the energy to even picture herself driving over to his place let alone actually doing it, so she hoped he wouldn't.

"No, I'll manage," he told her on another sigh. "Can you just tell me where you got yours?"

"Of course, but don't you think you should first test your theory?"

"What theory?" he asked, but continued almost immediately, before she could even think of her answer, "Oh, if it's the pillows."

"Yes, if it is the pillows." She shook her head. Wasn't that what they were talking about? He must have been even more exhausted than her. "I'll give you one of mine tomorrow," she continued, "and if you manage to find a comfortable position," she repeated his earlier words on purpose, "we can go buy you those pillows together if you want."

He let out a loud sigh. "Sounds like a plan." When he went on, he suddenly sounded almost smug. "But what if that's not it?"

She frowned. The question was a valid one but his tone made her suspicious. "Do any other possible causes come to mind?" she carefully inquired.

"Well," he dragged the word out, he was definitely up to something, "maybe it's the company."

"Well," she imitated him, "you're not moving in," she informed him through a bout of soft laughter. "So, don't get your hopes up."

"God, no!" he seemed so offended that his words instantly killed her laughter and had her eyebrows shoot up. She currently had no intention of moving in with him, she was nowhere near being ready for _that_ step and she was fairly certain she would freak out if or when _he_ was, but if this was his reaction to even the notion of it... His voice interrupted her musings before they could take a really worrisome turn.

"I mean," he started, obviously having realized what he must have sounded like, "I'm done being your patient is all. I'd like to just go back to our normal dating." She heard him take a deep breath. "I got used to being there, sure, but one step at a time, you know?"

She instantly relaxed, not even having noticed becoming so stiff. They were on the same page. Good. Having him stay with her had, despite the circumstances, been great and it most definitely brought them closer, but she was also looking forward to things returning to the way they mostly were, before his, as he liked to call it, dust up with the car.

"Mhm," she hummed her agreement. "And what if it _is_ the company?"

Sounding positively flirtatious now, "Oh, I have a few ideas," he informed her.

She smiled, knowing exactly how smoldering a look he would offer her if she could see him. "You do?" she encouraged, mentally wincing at the way her unintentionally equally flirtatious voice betrayed her sentiments.

"I do," he told her simply, not bothering to elaborate.

"Mhm," she hummed again.

"Mhm indeed." He sounded way too smug to her liking and she could just picture the smirk on his face.

"I hope it's the pillows then," she told him, mentally patting herself on the back for sounding so collected again.

There was a pause on his end of the line and she knew she succeeded in wiping that smirk off his face. She let out a snort of laughter when he grumbled, "Ouch." But he joined her laughing almost immediately after.

"Ready to sleep now?" she gently probed when their laughter subsided.

"I'll tell you tomorrow." His bed squeaked again.

She laughed again, she was certain he made the sound on purpose. "Good night, Andy."

"Good night, Sharon."

She smiled, looking at her phone as he ended the call. She reached out her hand to deposit it back onto her night stand, when it vibrated again.

She looked at the screen. It was a text message from Andy that had her shaking her head and smiling broadly. They were definitely in quite a mood tonight. "Sleep tight," it said.

She turned on her side and quickly typed a text back before finally putting her phone on the night stand.

Her text said, "Don't let the bedbugs bite."

* * *

 _ **See? Silly, I told you. Ridiculous even.**_

 _ **And yes, I refuse to believe that Rusty slept on the couch for more than a month. xD**_


	20. T

The Tables Have Turned

The entire team, but for Andy and Sharon, was seated at their desks, supposedly taking care of paperwork. Sharon was behind closed doors in her office with Andrea Hobbs, and Andy was leaning against the side of his desk, already done with most of his paperwork, arms folded and legs crossed at his ankles. He was participating in the animated discussion of the rest of his division.

The discussion had, unfortunately, put poor Amy in the hot seat.

"Ye Gods, you were drooling all over the guy!" Provenza was in the middle of accusing her, waving a hand at the young detective seated next to him.

She must have picked up a trick or two from their Captain, because she offered her superior officer merely an impassive look. "We were _supposed_ to drool all over him, Lieutenant," she explained calmly, but Andy was sure she was holding back an eye roll.

"Well, Sykes," he folded his arms, leaning back in his chair, and grumbled, "you're one hell of an actress then!"

Julio let out a snicker. His hands were resting on the top of his thighs so that he was slouched in his chair. He shot a look at the Captain's office. "DDA Hobbs on the other hand..." he let the sentence drop, but Andy happily finished it, "Was head over heels."

Buzz piped up from the far end of his desk, "Seriously though, he's just a _guy_."

Amy turned to give Buzz an exasperated look, "But he's hot." Her voice took on a slightly dreamy quality. She must have temporarily forgotten about her play-it-cool attitude, because when she obviously remembered it, she quickly looked back at the top of her desk, adopting a neutral expression once again.

"Oh, geez," Andy groaned, throwing a hand in the air, "it's like you've never seen a good looking guy before!" His voice went up a notch or two.

"Not a famous one," Tao clarified for him. He was resting his head on one of his hands, amusement written all over his face, and attentively listening to them.

She must have realized that her best defense was offense, because Amy suddenly squared her shoulders and shot a look at Julio, "As if you don't check out women."

He gave her a puzzled look and asked defensively, voice rising, "What?"

Both Andy and Provenza jumped in before Amy could, "Rios."

And even though Julio's shoulders slumped, because, really, he had no defense against that, Amy gave the two older Lieutenants no chance to revel in their jab. "With all due respect, you two are no better." She gave both of them a pointed look, which promptly deflated them as they geared up for an argument. "Yeah," she added, "I've heard the stories."

Buzz started laughing at them, but quickly sobered when Provenza and Andy shot him an angry look, but that did little to stop Tao from letting out an uncontrolled "Ha!"

Satisfied with the way the tables have turned, Amy held her chin up. "Why are you giving me grief anyway?" she shrugged her shoulders, "Hobbs and the Captain were also-" Julio's sudden frantic, and not at all subtle head shaking, shut her up, and she turned to follow his gaze.

"Andrea and I were also what, Amy?" a low, carefully modulated voice inquired. Both Hobbs and the Captain were standing in front of her office. Andy was doing a poor job at keeping his laughter at bay, but when not only Provenza, but Sharon herself shot him a look, he quickly came to his senses.

Amy, however, seemed completely unfazed by her Captain's sudden appearance. If anything, she seemed to even perk up as she merrily went on to address her, "The guys," she carefully pronounced the word, "are having a hard time understanding that we," she waved a hand between herself and the two women in front of her, "too, can appreciate one's good looks." There was now an air of utter gleefulness about her, an air only highlighted by another defiant lift of her chin.

Andy looked at her, mouth half-open, one eyebrow arched in disbelief. Since when did she choose her words that carefully?

Andrea, on the other hand, had a confused expression of her own, clearly not catching the youngest Detective's drift, but Sharon quickly caught up, and offered her team an amused look. A barely visible smile lifted a corner of her mouth and she shrugged a shoulder, "We are professionals," she gave her division's male population a pointed look, "but we're not dead," she added as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Before any of the team could even think of a retort, the Captain turned to Andrea, who was now laughing, having realized what they were talking about, "This way, Andrea, please." She waved a hand in the direction of Taylor's office and made her way out of the murder room, Andrea closely following only after giving the rest of the squad a "She's not wrong." look.

Amy couldn't contain the self-satisfied smile as the two women made their exit. Her co-workers fell silent for a moment, having been sent into a dumbfounded state of temporary shock, but Provenza suddenly broke the silence. "She's nuts," he told them. And judging by the tone of his voice and the look on his face, it seemed as if their Captain's words were just that one, final piece of evidence he was looking for to finally confirm that particular suspicion of his.

Andy turned to look at him, taking a seat behind his desk again, "Maybe," he started, his voice filled with awe, "but you've gotta admit," he tilted his head and shrugged a shoulder, "she's certainly not dead."

Provenza rolled his eyes, "Oh, shut up, Flynn!"

Andy gave him an annoyed glare, because that really was uncalled for, but before he could advise his partner to be his guest and shut up as well, Julio spoke up. He looked at Provenza with a serious expression on his face, but his trembling shoulders were indicative of just how big an effort that must have been for him, "I'm sorry, sir, but the Lieutenant's right."

As the rest of them burst out laughing again, Provenza just huffed. "Okay, okay." He decided to change the topic, "So when exactly does this party of hers start?"

* * *

 _ **You can guess which episode I wish this had occurred in, right?**_


	21. U

_**Just because I haven't said it in like 3 chapters... Thanks for reading and reviewing! Hearing your thoughts on these tidbits of mine is so rewarding! Makes writing even more fun than it already is!**_

 _ **I'm thoroughly enjoying writing these, and with only 5 more stories left after this one, I'm kind of dreading coming to an end, and I gotta say, it's comforting to see some of you share my sentiments!**_ _ **Any of you come up with more letters for the alphabet by any chance? ;)**_

 _ **Anyway, this is an added scene to 4x17. Hope you enjoy it!**_

* * *

Unspoken

She was working on the last of her paperwork. It hadn't been a long day, certainly not as long as the previous one had been, but it had been equally exhausting. The rest of the team had already called it a day. All but one of them.

And as if to remind her of just who that one was, there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she told the door, not even bothering to look up from her paperwork.

He came in and, after closing the door behind him, went to shut the blinds before dropping into a chair in front of her desk. Only then did he say "Hi," which finally had her lift her head.

She looked pointedly at the blinds, intentionally ignoring her good manners and not offering a greeting in return, before finally settling a questioning gaze on the man in front of her.

Andy just shrugged. "Need some help?" he asked instead, looking at her paperwork.

She dropped her eyes on the paper she was in the middle of filling out, and shook her head. "This is the last one."

"Good," he said, crossing his legs and leaning back in the chair. He folded his hands on top of his knee as if to tell her "I'll wait, carry on."

She offered him a quick smile and went back to work. When she finally jotted down her signature at the bottom of the paper, putting down her pen, she looked up at Andy. "I don't like this," she told him quietly.

He was looking at his hands, she would guess he was thinking about something, but he looked up at her words. "Me neither." His brows drew together in a frown, but he sounded much more sad than angry or irritated.

She closed the folder in front of her, put it on a pile that sat on the edge of her desk and got up. She walked around her desk only to stop in front of the empty chair next to Andy. She didn't sit down on it though. Instead she leaned against her desk in front of it, folding her arms.

"Our possible manslaughter case just got bumped up to a murder case." She nearly scoffed at her words. There was both a sad and bitter edge to her voice.

"Poetic justice?" Andy asked sarcastically, lifting his head to meet her gaze.

"For whom? Not for the father?" she asked, looking away and down to her heels. "And it most certainly won't bring Kayla back," she added. The bitterness left her voice and she sounded almost heartbroken now. It was always cases like these that got to her the most. That got to both of them the most.

Andy looked down too, to his hands again. "Yeah," he agreed gravely. "Losing your kid is bad enough," he started, shaking his head.

"But being the cause of it..." she continued for him, lifting her head to look at him.

He stood up and leaned against her desk next to her. "That would just," he shook his head again. He was looking in front of him, at nothing in particular, in search of words that would remain unspoken whether he managed to find them or not.

"I know," she said, unfolding her arms, and reached for one of his hands that was supporting his weight against her desk. The closed blinds weren't a bad idea after all.

He looked at their hands when he felt her touch and gladly wrapped his own around her fingers. He gave her a gentle squeeze before lifting his gaze. When his eyes settled on hers, he offered her a smile. "Wanna get out of here?" He indicated the door with a nod of his head.

She nodded. "Let's go," she told him, turning around to grab her purse before pushing off the desk.

When she started to round the chair in front of her to head for the door, he tugged on her hand. She stopped and looked at him, he was still leaning against her desk, having made no attempt to follow her. "You _don't_ want to get out of here?" she asked, raising a confused eyebrow at him.

He tugged on her hand again, and before obliging his unspoken request to come back, she gave him a questioning look.

He ignored the question. "I called my kids," he told her instead, when she leaned against her desk. They were closer this time, shoulder to shoulder, but were both looking at her closed blinds.

"Me, too," she admitted. "Yesterday."

"Me, too," he said.

When he remained quiet for a minute, she rested her head on his shoulder, only for a moment long enough to gently prod, "You okay?"

He looked at her. "Yeah," he let out on a sigh, voice higher in pitch than usually, "just wanted a quiet moment before," he let the sentence drop, shrugging his shoulders.

"We face reality again?" she tried, still looking at the blinds. They made sense now.

He sighed again. "Yeah, you could say that."

The floor was almost empty, they could indulge in a moment for themselves, she thought, and she only hummed in agreement.

"Come on," he said after a couple of more minutes of comforting silence, tugging on her hand as he started rounding the chair on his side, pulling her along with him.

She laughed softly and shook her head, but followed him without protest. When they got to her door he turned around to face her, holding up a finger. "Just one more thing," he told her, a note of mischief seeping into his tone now.

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly in suspicion, and, before she could say anything, he pulled her into a hug. It took less than a second for her to melt into it, humming contentedly. She didn't even realize she needed it after a case like this. They both did.

He took a deep breath, burying his face in her hair, swaying them slightly. He gave her a last gentle squeeze and started pulling away, but she didn't let go right away. Instead she followed him to press a soft kiss onto his lips before giving in and pulling away as well. "And that," she told him with a smile.

He grinned at her and opened the door.

"How about dinner?" she asked, walking past him and reaching for his hand.

He killed the lights and happily followed, nodding his head and entwining their fingers together. "My place?"

They made their way to the elevators. She gave him a hopeful look, "Will you cook?"

"On one condition," he told her, an air of mischief about him again, as he pressed the button to call for the elevator they just reached.

"And that would be?" she turned to look at him, folding her arms. There was a note of challenge in both her voice and stance, either daring or taunting him to say what she expected him to say.

"You wash up," he quipped, almost smirking at her now.

She burst out laughing. Of course, he'd throw her off course. The elevator doors opened, "You drive a hard bargain, Andy," she said as she passed them.

"Sharon," he pinned her with a serious look, when he stepped into the elevator, "are there any other kind when it comes to you?"

She hummed and smiled in amusement, watching him press a button to get them moving. When he turned to look at her again, she spoke, "They're never hard, Andy."

Andy chuckled, "You should ask Rusty for a second opinion then."

That had her laugh again and she leaned her cheek against his shoulder. "What about yours?" she asked at the end of her laugh, trying to pull herself together again.

"My opinion?" he lifted his eyebrows in askance. When she nodded, now looking up at him, he rubbed a finger against his chin, taking a purposefully agonizing moment before giving his answer. "Hmm, I'll get back to you on that," he finally told her, carefully serious now.

"Really?" she couldn't help the note of incredulity that tinted her word.

"Really," he confirmed, nodding. He was smirking at her when he added, "But I can tell you one thing," he tilted his head as if conspiring with her, "it's not an objective opinion." He couldn't help the crooked grin that made its way onto his face.

"Oh, you," she let out on a happy sigh, leaning her head back against his shoulder.

Andy chuckled again and wrapped an arm around her waist.

When they reached the garage they pulled apart and as they walked out of the elevator, she asked, a hint of sadness in her voice again, "The case?"

"Sucks," he replied immediately. "But nothing more we can do about it," he added sadly. It was true. What was done was done, as awful as it was. They wouldn't forget it, couldn't really, but carrying it around all the time would drive them crazy. They had to leave it at work. And with the company he was in, he thought that shouldn't be too hard now.

She squeezed his hand in both acknowledgement and agreement.

"Follow me?" he asked when they were within reach of their respective cars.

"Of course," she told him right away.

"Okay," he wiggled his eyebrows, "try to keep up." He quickly dropped a kiss to her lips to silence any possible retorts of hers, and made for his car.

She smiled and shook her head at his retreating form before turning toward her own car.

She'll keep up alright.


	22. V

_**This is an added scene to 4x07.**_

* * *

Vested Interests

"You were right, you know?"

They were on their way back to the murder room after their arrests at the church. Andy was driving and Sharon was sitting in the passenger seat. She quirked an eyebrow at him when she registered his words.

"About?" she gently inquired.

"Objectivity," he told her simply, shrugging his shoulders.

They had discussed this at length; the importance of balancing their growing personal relationship with their already established work relationship, how to not let their feelings affect either one's objectivity, and, in short, how to just make it work. He had grown more protective of her over the past few months and even though she had made it clear that she knew how to take care of herself long before they decided to give dating a try, she had still, privately, factored that particular trait of his into how it might affect their professional relationship now that the stakes had gotten higher. Andy had readily and almost a bit _too_ eagerly assured her that he understood and that he agreed that they could not let their romance interfere with how they acted on the job. But she suspected he hadn't exactly thought it all through; and not for lack of trying; he was simply often prone to acting before thoroughly thinking, and she couldn't help but shake her head and smile at him in amusement at his sudden breakthrough.

But rather than letting him in on her private bout of amusement she merely offered a neutral, "Is that so?" in response. Her gaze remained fixed on the road in front of them.

He slanted her a bland look, one clearly saying "Don't act like you didn't expect this." but confirmed it with a firm "Yes." anyway. "Your little undercover stunt didn't make me feel exactly at ease, even if I knew you were covered at all times and more than capable of handling yourself," he added, returning his focus to driving.

She gave him an appraising look. He sounded almost irritated, and not with her or the situation. No, he sounded irritated with himself, offended even, so she considered her next words carefully. And when she spoke, there was only the faintest hint of hesitance in her voice. "Can you handle it?"

His eyes widened and he met her look as they came to a stop at a red light. In an instant, whatever irritation she may have seen in him gave way to surprise, even panic. "Yes," he responded, a note of urgency in his voice and probably a bit more force in it than anticipated. "I just need to get used to it now," he clarified with another shrug as he got them moving again when the lights switched to green.

She regarded his profile for another moment before nodding and leaning her head against her seat's headrest. "Okay," was all she could say.

"Can you?" he suddenly asked, just as she was getting comfortable in their little bubble of silence.

She looked at him, but his gaze was on the cars in front of them so he couldn't see the brief smile that crossed her features when she answered, "I wouldn't have said yes when you asked me out, if I thought I couldn't."

He gave her an amused look and started grinning when he said, "You never said yes, Sharon." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh," she let out on a sigh and dropped her head to the headrest again. "You caught me off guard there, Andy." She slanted him a mischievous look, "And I don't think you should be complaining. 'Fine' is still better than 'No', Mr. One of the Most Romantic Places in LA." She failed at keeping her laughter at bay and a bit managed to burst out of her.

He had to join in her laughter, but when they pulled themselves together he told her seriously, slanting her a look of his own, "Oh, I am not complaining."

She briefly smiled and trailed a hand down his arm. "Good," she told him, "neither am I."

He caught her hand on its way back, and, after weaving their fingers together, gave it a gentle squeeze and settled it on top of the gearshift.

"I can handle this," he lifted both of their hands as he tried to wave his through the air, probably indicating not only their previous operation, but future ones, too. He sounded sure of himself, but his next words were almost tentative, "But if something were to happen," he gave her a slightly worried look, trailing off, refusing to voice just what _could_ happen in their line of work. "I have a vested interest in this, you know," he offered her a crooked grin, "so I can't make any promises then."

She looked at him, his focus back in front of him again. If their current case wasn't a reminder of just _what_ could happen, nothing was. "I know." She stroked his little finger with her thumb. "Me, too," she added softly.

He turned his head to look at her, and when he noticed her somber expression, he frowned slightly, trying to come up with something reassuring to tell her. "I can promise to try?" he finally decided to say.

That put a small smile on her face and he briefly met her gaze before turning his attention back to driving. "I can't do more either," she agreed.

They lapsed into another silence and Sharon let her thoughts wander.

It was new, this thing between them. Not their friendship, but this decision to let their guards down and move forward together. They were far from making any great proclamations of love, but she was certain that neither one of them would have agreed to giving this a shot had they not hoped to maybe one day reach that stage, too. Especially not considering their jobs and their respective positions there. There was a more serious sense of commitment between them now, Andy called it vested interests, and she needed to know, they both needed to, that they could function on a professional level _now_ as well as they could _before_ taking this step. They both believed they could, even if there might be some bumps in the road, such as this one, which is why she appreciated his honesty all the more. He was more impulsive than her and she was well aware of being the one who kept the brakes on at the moment, however it was comforting to know that he understood her qualms and was not brushing them off, but was actually admitting to having realized that he had some of those as well. That alone strengthened her faith in that there was a future to whatever they were now or would become later.

They were about to enter the parking lot of the LAPD headquarters when she decided to offer him a bit of reassurance as well, before work would take over again. "That's why we have to report this." Her voice shook only fractionally and she hoped he wouldn't notice.

She knew he did though when he squeezed her hand again. He might have missed it, had he not known her so well by now and she realized, it was actually another comforting, rather than scary thing, the fact that he could read her this well. "Just in case," he agreed, nodding his head.

He had no intention of adding anything to his sentence, she knew, but she finished it anyway, voice perfectly steady now, "The lines get blurred." That it was department policy went without saying.

He parked the car, letting go of her hand, but did not turn the engine off. Instead he turned in his seat to face her better. "Speaking of which," he started, "when _do_ we tell Taylor?"

She looked out of her window, in the direction of the doors that would lead them back to work, and sighed. "Not today." She spoke softly, a note of sadness to her words. "I have to change first," she looked down at the clothes she was wearing and then settled her gaze on Andy, who was still looking at her, "and then I have an innocent young man to deal with."

"Witness protection in exchange for his testimony?" he asked.

She nodded. "Among other things," she added.

He finally killed the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt. When he reached for the door handle, he gave her one more look. She was in the process of opening the door as well, but when he spoke, she stopped mid movement to meet his look. "Losing our own sucks."

"It does," she agreed, her sadness raising her voice slightly.

No more words were necessary. There was little more they could do apart from bringing their killers to justice, and they did exactly that. They exchanged one last look of encouragement before opening their respective doors.

By the time they exited the car and shut the doors behind them, they were no longer Sharon and Andy.

They were Captain and Lieutenant again.


	23. W

**_Set somewhere between 5x01 and 5x03. I refuse to believe that there was no teasing about this._**

* * *

Wife

He entered the break room for a cup of coffee to be greeted by Provenza's turned back, his head all but buried in the refrigerator.

"I don't think you can fit in there," Andy told his partner as he made his way to the coffee machine.

Provenza's head popped out of the fridge and, leaning against its door, he shot his partner an annoyed look. "I'm hungry," he mumbled, returning his attention to the fridge and practically rummaging through its contents.

Andy reached for a mug and leaned against the counter while pouring coffee into it. "Patrice didn't pack you a healthy lunch for today?" he asked, a note of teasing in his voice.

Provenza groaned, shutting the door, empty handed, and rolled his eyes, moving to lean against the now closed refrigerator. "I'll turn green myself if I have to eat one more vegetable she packs for me," he grumbled.

Andy barked a laugh and started walking toward the door. He didn't even bother gracing his partner with a look. "Eat something else then," he threw over his shoulder, opening the door.

Provenza followed him out of the break room. "What do you think I'm trying to do here, smartass?" He wasn't yelling, but if they could, the hands he was waving through the air certainly would be.

Andy just laughed again. "What is it with the health trip, anyway?" he asked and slowed down, so they were walking side by side now. He took a sip of his coffee while patiently waiting for an answer.

"Patrice's idea," Provenza mumbled.

Andy rolled his eyes, "I know _that_ ," he gave Provenza an exasperated look, "but since when do you do as your wife says?" He couldn't contain his laughter.

Provenza sped up to go past Andy, "Unless you have actual food for me, shut up, Flynn." Suddenly he stopped and turned around to face Andy, making him stop as well. "On second thought, just shut up, Flynn." And with that he walked away, making a beeline for his desk.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine today?" Andy yelled after him, shaking his head.

At that, Sharon turned the corner. She had heard them so she raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "He's hungry," Andy informed her, shrugging a shoulder and hooking a thumb at the now seated Lieutenant.

She narrowed her eyes at Andy before turning her head to look at the man in question. When she returned her gaze to Andy, she hummed in acknowledgement and offered a small smile. Shaking her head she then walked into her office, obviously deciding she didn't need to, or want to know what the two were arguing about this time.

Julio picked up on Andy's words and shot Provenza an amused look. He was seated at his desk and was in the middle of taking another bite out of the slice of pizza he was holding in one of his hands. "Want a slice, Sir?" He nodded his head at the closed pizza box in front of him.

Andy chuckled, earning himself another angry glare from Provenza, and sat down on his chair. When the older Lieutenant decided the glare lasted long enough to make his point, he turned his attention to Julio and mumbled a grumpy "Yes, thank you very much." Julio happily obliged by turning the entire box toward him.

But Julio couldn't help it anymore and started chuckling when Provenza's hand stayed midair for a moment as he hesitated. "I promise not to tell your wife, Sir," he assured him quietly.

That earned him a glare, too, but with far less heat behind it than his earlier one. Andy was about to open his mouth, when Provenza waved a hand in his direction, the one holding the newly acquired slice of pizza, not even looking at him, "Not a word, Flynn." And with that he dug into the slice.

The warning did little to stop Andy's happy grin.

"Oh, I'm starving," they suddenly heard Amy say. She, Mike and Buzz walked into the murder room, they had been out on an errand for the case. She walked up to her desk, already eyeing the pizza box that was waiting for her there. She gave Julio a look of gratitude and flopped into her chair, now busy opening the box. Mike and Buzz happily joined in, each grabbing a slice, too.

"No healthy lunch for you today, Sir?" Amy asked when she noticed Provenza working his way through his second slice of pizza.

He didn't grace her with a reply, but merely gave her a bland look. Amy looked between Buzz and Mike, who were basically flanking her, each standing at one of her sides, and shrugged. Neither one of them knew what the Lieutenant's problem seemed to be.

However, Andy eagerly provided their confused state an explanation. "He's just cranky, Sykes. No hearts on the pizza box." He was busy typing something on his computer and he pointedly ignored Provenza's scorching glare the comment earned him.

Julio nearly choked on his pizza as another chuckle escaped him. But of the trio in front of him, only Mike seemed to have caught up on what was going on.

"Cheat day?" he piped up after swallowing a bite.

Even Provenza had to laugh at that, albeit bitterly. "Something like that," he admitted, putting smiles on Buzz's and Amy's faces as their respective light bulbs finally went on.

Amy geared up for a question, looking at Provenza, but at the last moment, she turned in her chair to direct the question at Andy. "Did this happen," she waved a hand at Provenza, "with any of his other wives, Lieutenant?" She sounded genuinely curious, not a hint of mocking or teasing to be detected in her voice.

Andy shook his head and raised an eyebrow at her, "You have no idea."

"Yeah, remember his last wardrobe upgrade?" Mike added, sending Julio into a quiet shoulder shaking laughter, and walked to his own desk.

"And she wasn't even his wi-" Andy started, laughing as well.

"Alright," Provenza interrupted him, warning all of them with the wave of a finger and a pointed look. "Do I make fun of _you_?" he asked Andy.

Andy sobered immediately and gave him an incredulous look, turning in his chair to properly pin the man with it. "Are you kidding me?" he extended the look to his other team members, all of them trying valiantly to keep straight faces. "Did I hear him right?" He blinked at them in disbelief.

"Listen," Provenza got to his feet and walked over to Andy's desk, threatening him with the shake of a finger. "Patrice is not the boss of me," Andy's eyebrows shot up a that, but Provenza plowed on, "and neither are you! So zip it and go back to work!"

Andy didn't even flinch. Instead he took another sip of his coffee and exchanged a look with Julio. The younger of the two decided to address Provenza. "Sir," he waited until Provenza turned around to look at him, "does that mean I _can_ tell your wife about today's lunch?" He kept a straight face, but his slightly shaking voice gave away his amusement. And Andy had to give the man props, it was a brave question to ask his already thoroughly irritated partner.

Mike, Buzz and Amy only barely managed to stifle their laughter. After all, they dared push the Lieutenant only so far. But the words put a self-satisfied smirk on Andy's face and he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. His entire demeanor nearly screamed, "Man, he got you good."

Instead of directing his ire at Julio, Provenza whirled around on Andy again. "How about your girlfriend, huh?" He hissed the words, careful to not be overhead by said girlfriend, who was but a closed door away.

Andy just smirked at him. "My girlfriend _is_ my boss," he replied confidently, loudly enough to send the rest of the team into another quiet fit of laughter.

Provenza threw his hands up and went back to his desk. "Ye Gods," he mumbled as he slumped into his chair.

"But she is, Lieutenant," Buzz quipped, walking toward his own desk.

Provenza gave his back an annoyed look, but did not deem him worthy of a retort. Instead he reached for a file in front of him, deciding to just ignore the rest of the bunch as well.

They slowly returned to work and Andy was still grinning when Sharon got out of her office. She briefly touched his shoulder on her way over to the murder board, to get his attention, and he got up to follow her. That earned him a pointed look from his partner, but he merely rolled his eyes at him.

"So, where are we?" she asked the team, oblivious to the two's exchange.

"Well," both Provenza and Andy started, then stopped to shoot each other annoyed looks.

However, before she could address either one of them, Tao intervened and started filling her in. And she was glad that he did. She really didn't need to know what had her two senior Lieutenants butt heads _this time_ , so she purposefully turned her entire attention to the youngest, and apparently most professional of her Lieutenants.

Besides, Andy would tell her later, either to gloat, or to complain about it.


	24. X

_**Set somewhere in between 4x09 and 4x11.**_

 _ **And just to make it a wee bit more interesting, the title will not give away the 'x' word I'm focusing this on.**_

* * *

X

"Buzz!" Provenza yelled from his desk, making the younger man jump to his feet almost instantly.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Buzz said as he walked over to Provenza's desk.

Provenza shoved his phone into Buzz's hands and he only barely managed not to drop it. "What the hell does that mean?" Provenza waved a hand through the air. "She's been ending her texts with that for weeks now!"

Buzz frowned and looked between the phone in his hand and the Lieutenant in front of him. When he finally took note of the phone's screen, a short burst of laughter escaped him before he could catch himself.

"What?" Provenza grumbled, snatching his phone back.

Andy's head snapped up at Buzz's unexpected laughter and he threw his partner a curious look, but Provenza just shot him an annoyed "Keep out of it." glare. Andy, naturally, took that as an invitation and made his way over to him.

He stopped behind him and stole a quick peek at the phone whose screen was still on, but said nothing, since Buzz, who managed to regain his own ability of speech, spoke first. "Lieutenant," he started carefully, "which part of the text do you not understand?" He seemed wary of the Lieutenant, but both amused with his little predicament and slightly worried about another possible angry outburst from him.

Provenza glared angrily at Andy, until he finally took his hint and took a step back, before grumbling, "Well, this," he pointed a finger at a word on his screen, then looked up at Buzz, "what's that about?" He sounded genuinely confused.

Before Buzz could offer an explanation, Andy started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Provenza practically yelled at him.

"Buzz was wrong," he started, trying to keep his laughter at bay as Buzz looked at him in confusion, "the dinosaurs are not extinct yet." He burst into another fit of laughter.

"Buzz?" Provenza chose to ignore his itch to slap his partner into silence and directed his attention at the younger of the two.

"That means," Buzz started, miraculously managing not to dissolve into laughter himself, but Andy cut him off.

"You know what, Provenza?" Andy took a step towards him to give him a better look. "You should try texting that to the Captain." He tilted his head in the direction of her office.

At that Buzz did dissolve into laughter, making Provenza only bristle even more.

"What the hell is so funny?" Provenza got to his feet. "It's just a stupid text message!" He threw his hands up in the air.

"What seems to be the problem, Lieutenant?" a low, smooth voice inquired.

Their heads turned in the direction of the voice's source and the three of them promptly clamped down on their temporary loss of composure.

Andy, of course, graced her with an answer first. He was almost smirking as he filled her in. "Provenza here," he hooked a thumb toward his partner, "is trying to decipher some text messages."

Sharon's eyebrows lifted in confusion. "What text messages?" She gave all three of them an expectant look.

Andy waved a hand at her, catching her drift. "Oh, no, not about the case, Tao would handle those anyway," he started, shaking his head, and she focused her gaze on him, "his _personal_ text messages." He _was_ smirking now.

"That's enough!" Provenza suddenly interrupted, before Sharon could come up with a follow up question. He slumped into his chair again, locking his phone. "I'll just look it up on the internet later," he grumbled, picking up and opening a folder that was on his desk.

She wasn't one to pry so openly, but before she could help it, she asked, "Look what up?" She gave Buzz and Andy a questioning look.

"'xoxo'", Buzz simply said.

Sharon blinked at him and gave Andy a quick look before focusing on Provenza, who stubbornly wouldn't look up.

She smiled when she spoke but her voice betrayed none of her amusement, "Messages from Patrice, I take it." She directed her words at Provenza, but it was Buzz and Andy who nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, Captain," Buzz said, but before he could say more, Provenza's head snapped up, as if he had only now registered her words.

"How could you possibly know that, Captain?" he asked, the folder in his hands suddenly completely forgotten.

The corners of her mouth quirked up to form another smile, and when she replied, it was in a voice she often used on Rusty when broaching sensitive subjects with him. "Because 'xoxo' is short for 'hugs and kisses', Lieutenant."

Next to her Andy couldn't help but snicker, and Buzz pressed his lips together doing his best to keep them from forming a smile.

But Provenza ignored them. "Oh," he said, picking up his phone again and unlocking it. "That makes sense," he added on a smile.

Sharon shook her head in amusement and turned around to walk back into her office. She was about to close the door behind her as she walked in, when Provenza's unexpected yell, made her come to a halt. "I should try texting _her_ this?" Her ears perked up at that.

She turned around to take a peek at them through the blinds. Provenza was on his feet in front of Andy, directing his ire at him, who together with Buzz, was fighting another burst of laughter. When Andy shrugged, it only seemed to agitate his partner more. " _You_ text her that!" he yelled.

At that Buzz caught her eye. He offered her an apologetic smile, indicating the bickering duo with a tilt of his head, before promptly deciding to make himself scarce by walking toward their media room. She could guess what Andy must've suggested so she smiled to herself and closed the door, drowning out their voices, to let them figure it out.

Andy waved him off, "I won't." He started walking back to his desk. "I don't," he added.

"But you know what it means," Provenza followed him, allowing him to flop down into his chair, before leaning against the side of his desk.

Andy raised his head to pin the man with an exasperated look. Provenza was now watching him with suspiciously narrowed eyes. "So what?" he asked. "Unlike you, I've entered the 21st century."

Provenza lifted his gaze and slanted a look at the Captain who had in the meantime made herself comfortable behind her own desk. Something seemed to dawn on him as he looked at her, because his eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up. When he returned his eyes on Andy, he even smiled when he spoke, "She uses 'xoxo', doesn't she?" an air of smugness suddenly surrounding him.

Andy frowned, "As does my daughter sometimes, and her stepkids." He adopted a suspicious look of his own. "So what?" he asked, suddenly on the defensive.

Provenza pushed off Andy's desk and walked back to his. "The intrepid Captain Sharon Raydor," he started in a booming voice, "sending out hugs and kisses," he finished and started laughing. If he thought about it, he had gotten to know her well enough by now to not really consider that revelation a surprising one, but he thought it only fair to make fun of his partner about it.

His fun didn't last long though, for his partner offered him a smug retort. "You're not jealous, are you?"

Provenza rolled his eyes, "Ye Gods," he shook his head. "You're an idiot," he told his partner, but he was busy typing on his phone now and ignoring him.

Provenza's phone suddenly buzzed, catching his attention, and he didn't notice that Andy looked up expectantly, a self-satisfied smirk on his face, watching him as he reached for it.

When he read the message, Provenza dropped the phone back onto the desk with a loud thud and threw Andy an angry look. "Would you go back to work, Flynn?" He groaned and focused on his folder again, purposefully ignoring his partner's open grinning now.

The text was from Andy. It said, "xoxo".

* * *

 _ **I was super close to letting that final text be from Sharon, but that would have been pushing it a bit, don't you think?  
Oh, and you can guess the title, right? :D **_


	25. Y

You Know What?

A hand on her shoulder shook her out of her thoughts. She was sitting behind her desk, her chair's back facing the murder room as she was looking through her office window. She turned around to face the owner of the hand whose footsteps she managed to overhear.

"I thought you left," she said, smiling at him, genuinely surprised to see him.

Andy took his hand back and rubbed the back of his head with it and shrugged. "The rest of the team called it a day, but I figured I'd stick around."

"Rusty took Gus back to his hotel," she said pushing her chair back a bit, so she could get a better look at him.

"Yeah, I know. I saw them on their way out." He leaned against the edge of her desk. "The guy looked pretty shaken up."

She let out a sad sigh, looking down now, "To say the least."

"The kid did one hell of a job," he repeated both his and Provenza's earlier words, looking up from her to face the view she had been so busy contemplating before he interrupted her.

"He did," she agreed, nodding her head proudly.

He remained quiet for a moment and it made her look up again. "Something the matter?" she prodded.

He met her gaze and regarded her for a second. He seemed to be considering whether to say anything or to just keep his thoughts to himself so she lifted an eyebrow in the hopes of nudging him into speaking up. It did not do the trick for he looked away and mumbled, "It's nothing."

"You sure?" she asked, following his gaze.

He nodded. "Wanna get out of here?" he asked, giving her a hopeful look.

He still seemed off, almost in complete contrast to his excellent mood from a few hours ago. He was almost brooding now, and she wondered why, but she nodded anyway. He'd tell her eventually. "Let's go," she told him, getting to her feet and collecting her things.

Their walk toward the elevator was a silent one, and the silence only stretched when they entered an already occupied elevator. By the time they reached the parking lot, Sharon felt slightly unnerved. She was used to silences with Andy. But not to uncomfortable ones such as this one was turning out to be.

Before she could do something about it, Andy spoke. They were halfway to her car now, both looking in front of them. "That was an awful lot he just dumped on you to deal with." There was only the faintest trace of irritation in his voice.

So that was his problem. She gave him a look, noting the frown that settled on his face. "You'd rather he had told him himself?" There was a note of genuine confusion in her own voice.

Her words wiped his frown off his face almost immediately and he turned his head quickly to focus on her. "Of course not," he said, a hint of an apology to the words, although when he continued there was a bit of annoyance in his voice, too, "but a heads up would have been nice, don't you think?"

She couldn't help but shake her head in amusement and when she even smiled at him, he gave her a thoroughly puzzled look. He had no idea how endearing she found this recently discovered protectiveness of his and for now she had no intention of letting him in on her little secret, so she offered his question a reply instead, "It wouldn't have made the notification any easier."

He narrowed his eyes at her, obviously still thrown by her smile, but took note of her words. "True," he admitted.

She regarded him for a moment. They came to a stop, having reached her car. "Would you like to come over?" she asked, deciding that she would like to indulge in his company a while longer. She also had a feeling he had more to say on the matter, so she would indulge him in this protective streak of his, too.

This threw him even more, "What about Rusty?" he asked, eyes wide with surprise.

"What about him?" she asked flatly. The tone she used said that, as sensitive as she could be to Rusty's current unease about the idea of them dating, she had no intention whatsoever of walking on eggshells around him.

There was also a note of hope in her voice and he held out a hand, wiggling his fingers, beckoning her to take it. "You sure?" He did not want to make the kid any more wary of the situation than he already was.

She took his hand and gave him a smile. "He'll never come around if I hide you," she told him, squeezing his hand.

"Well," he offered her a goofy grin, "I have no intention of hiding then."

"Good, neither do I." She fished her car keys out of her purse before matter-of-factly adding, "I doubt he'll be home soon, anyway." Rusty had seemed reluctant to leave Gus on his own right away and had mentioned making sure he at least had something to eat before leaving him on his own. She couldn't help the swell of pride that washed over her at the mere thought of how responsible a consideration that was on Rusty's part.

"Is that so?" Andy asked, quirking an eyebrow at her and taking a purposeful step towards her, with every intention of invading her personal space. He knew perfectly well what she meant by that, what her invitation entailed, or rather what it didn't entail. He was more than aware of what she was and wasn't comfortable with for the time being, he was okay with it, too, but that would not prevent him from testing the waters every now and then. Besides, one of the reasons why he believed they worked so well together so far was that they kept each other on their toes, so he really couldn't disappoint in that regard either now, could he? And that it was fun as well, was only an added bonus.

She put up the hand holding her car keys to press her first three fingers against his chest, and suddenly all of his cockiness disappeared, and he worriedly thought she'd push him away. They were still technically at work, he remembered, but when she offered him a provocative smile, and started rising on her toes ever so slightly, his worry started dissipating. When she pressed her soft lips against his, he forgot what he was worrying about in the first place.

"That is so," she confirmed, pulling away and dropping back fully onto her feet, before he could even think about reacting and catching up with her actions.

He practically gaped at her, jaw dropped. In disbelief, awe? He couldn't say. He had hoped she would play along, had been fairly certain she would, but did not expect her to play along like _that_. He thought work, even after hours, was off limits. He was pretty sure she even explicitly mentioned their workplace parking space, and now this.

The touch of her hand as she gently closed his mouth and her mirthful laughter suddenly snapped him out of his befuddlement but it took him less than a second to decide on his retaliation. He promptly let go of her hand to bring his own up to her neck, under her soft curtain of hair, and crashed his lips into hers. He smiled against them when she all but melted into the kiss and lifted a hand to his side, squeezing it gently, pulling herself closer to him. Maybe this particular rule of hers was a negotiable one after all, he thought, reveling in the feel of her.

When they pulled apart, both equally flushed and slightly out of breath, she shook her head at his grinning, self-satisfied face. "You know what?" she asked, rather sharply, this time actually lightly pushing him away as she took half a step back. "Maybe we do need a chaperone."

It was a well-placed dig, he knew. Not a surprising one though, since one could always rely on Sharon Raydor to speak her mind one way or the other, and sooner rather than later, too. But instead of even pretending to feel ashamed of his maybe not so smart remark, he smirked happily at her and shoved his hands into his pockets. This 'old-fashioned' dating thing they had going really wasn't half bad. "No, I'm good. But maybe you do," he told her, a suspiciously confident air about him now.

"And why is that, Lieutenant?" she inquired in the most professional voice she could muster.

He pointedly looked at the hand still lightly pressing against his chest. "You can't keep your hands off of me, Captain." he quipped, a cocky grin gracing his features as he quirked an eyebrow at her.

She instantly pulled her hand back, almost shyly, clumsily even, but she smiled and there was a note of teasing in her voice when she spoke, "So you're _not_ coming over?"

He laughed then. "You'll need more than a chaperone to get rid of me," he told her, stealing a quick last kiss before turning around. "I'll grab some dinner on my way. See you in a bit," he threw over his shoulder and made his way toward his car.

She shook her head in amusement and turned to her own car. "See you in a bit," she repeated, absently waving a hand through the air, although she doubted he could hear her anymore.

Dating Andy Flynn was certainly proving to be interesting, she thought, backing out of her parking space.

Now, if only her youngest son would see it that way, too.

* * *

 ** _Of course, she's probably biased. ;)_**

 ** _In other news, I'm nearly done. :O Only one more letter to go! :'(_** ** _Got any ideas about what I should write about after this? XD_**

 ** _Also, hit the reviews, please, I'm particularly eager to hear your thoughts on this tidbit!_**


	26. Z

**_And for my final letter, here's a little bit of nothing!_**

* * *

Z's

They arrived at the condo together. He had left his car at work and taken a ride with her, too tired to make the long drive back to his place. It had been a long day. And night. The case wasn't an especially _emotionally_ draining one, but the Chief himself was breathing down their necks to solve it as quickly as possible, since it involved some big fish, and that alone was draining enough. Add an 18-hour work day to it and they were dead on their feet. So now, at 2 am, after having made an arrest that would be dealt with on Monday, all they really wanted was to get into bed and sleep. Fortunately, tomorrow (or today?) was Saturday and neither one of them was on call. And sleeping in sounded like a marvelous plan for the day.

She let him use the bathroom first. He made quick work of his clothes and slipped into a pair of sweatpants and an old white T-shirt that he kept there, and quickly brushed his teeth. He skipped the shower, for, no matter how tempting it sounded, he simply lacked the energy for it. So when he was done, he stepped back into her bedroom only to be greeted by a sight that had him holding back a chuckle.

Sharon was sprawled diagonally over her bed, face down, on top of the covers, feet dangling over the corner. Her head rested on top of her folded arms and, if not for her soft, barely audible snores, he would have thought she was simply waiting instead of sleeping. He briefly considered tickling her feet and waking her up, but decided against it in the end. He'd rather enjoy the sight a little longer.

So he made his way around the bed and, careful not to jostle her, sat on his side of it, or on the little space that was left of it. He leaned against the headboard, and only managed to partially stretch out one of his legs over the bed, leaving the other one bent over the edge, foot almost touching the floor.

She had taken her blazer off, but her blouse was still tucked into her skirt. He would have to wake her up soon. No matter how adorable she looked at the moment, he knew for a fact that she would hate sleeping through the night still dressed in her work clothes. Besides, he'd like to get some sleep tonight as well. For now though, he was content to just watch her. Funny how all of the sudden he wasn't sleepy at all anymore.

When his eyes settled on her face, what he saw put a smile on his. Her hair was tousled and puffed out as it covered one side of her face and he fought the urge to run his fingers through it. She was still wearing her glasses, too, although they were slightly askew, the observation only widening his smile. Without thinking, he leaned down to slip them gently off, brushing aside a few of those stubborn strands of hair in the process, thus somewhat giving in to his earlier urge after all, and, of course, the moment her glasses lost contact with her nose, she stirred awake. Not completely awake, judging by the sleepy hum she let out, but awake nonetheless.

She blinked a few times, trying to regain focus, probably a futile attempt now that her glasses were gone, and tilted and raised her head slightly in search of his face. When her eyes settled on his, she hummed again, a small content smile quirking her lips. She made no move to actually get up, instead she dropped her head back on top of her hands and closed her eyes again.

He put her glasses down on the nightstand next to him. "Should I take the couch?" he asked through a grin, waving a hand at her sprawled form when he returned his attention to her even though her eyes were still firmly shut.

She pulled an arm out from underneath her head and blindly reached for his hand. When she grabbed ahold of it, she pulled it toward her. She lifted her head and slipped it underneath before placing her chin on top of it. "I'm exhausted," she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

He chuckled. "I noticed," he said, wiggling his fingers under her head.

She only resettled her head and sighed. "So couch then?" he asked, failing miserably at hiding the amusement in his voice.

He tried to pull back his hand, in a pretend attempt of getting off the bed, but she tightened her hold on it, shaking her head, and finally made an effort to get up. By the time she was on her knees, she was wide awake. "Here," she neatly put the hand she was still holding back on top of the covers next to his thigh, and got to her feet. "Don't fall asleep on me," she warned as she made her way to the bathroom.

He laughed and shook his head at her. He stood up only long enough to lift the covers and slip into the bed. The moment his head hit the pillow his exhaustion hit him in full force again.

He didn't even register closing his eyes when a soft kiss to his temple startled him awake. He turned his head and, when he opened his eyes, they were met by Sharon's who was now lying in bed under the covers next to him. The way the corners of her eyes crinkled and her lips pressed tightly together, let him know that keeping herself from laughing, was quite the effort on her part.

"Ha-ha," he grumbled, stifling a yawn.

She propped her head on an elbow and let the laughter burst out of her. "You tired?" she asked, trying to sound concerned, but the slightly raised pitch of her voice made her sound anything but.

"You think?" he retorted, propping his head on an elbow as well.

"I do," she confirmed, nodding her head. She didn't hide her wide smile.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What gave me away?" he asked sarcastically.

"Oh," she said on an amused sigh, almost giggling, "a number of things."

Deciding to give her set trap a wide berth, he aimed another question at her. "I thought you were exhausted?"

She shook her head. "I took a power nap," she informed him as if it was the most obvious explanation in the world.

He barked a laugh. "A 10 minute nap?" He barely managed to let the words out properly.

She gave him a bland look. "That's how long power naps sometimes take, Andy," she informed him in a no-nonsense voice.

"That a rule?" he grumbled, but arched an amused eyebrow at her.

She tilted her head, and looked away for a moment, obviously in search of an answer. "Not a rule," she started at a deliberate pace, the corners of her eyes crinkling again as another wide smile spread over her face, "more of a guideline." She shrugged a shoulder at him.

He shook his head, but smiled an amused smile. Sharon Raydor, rules and guidelines, what a combination! "Well," he dragged the word out, rolling over onto his back and folding his arms under his head, " _I_ need to catch some _proper_ z's, Sharon. A 6 to 8 hours worth of z's."

She hummed, and something in her tone had him turn his head to slant a look at her. "Unless you have other ideas?" He grinned at her.

She slapped a hand over his chest. Well, it was more of a pat than a slap, actually. "Oh, you," she shook her head at him, but scooted closer to him.

He grinned again, "What about me?"

She scooted even closer to him, worming an arm underneath him, and settled her head on top of his chest. She didn't speak until he pulled an arm out from underneath his head to wrap it around her. "Go catch your z's." It would have been an order had she not punctuated her words with a quick kiss on top of his chest before snuggling into him a little more.

"I was trying to, but _somebody_ rudely interrupted me," he mumbled, tightening his arm around her.

Despite his arm, she managed to push herself up to look at him. He had closed his eyes, so she pointedly waited a moment to prompt him to open them and only when he did, did she speak. "Maybe the couch isn't such a bad idea?" It was a threat, but a feeble one at that, considering the mischievous smile on her face.

He lifted his head and planted a kiss against her lips. He tightened his arm around her again when he pulled away and shook his head, closing his eyes once more. "Interrupt me all you want," he told her seriously. "The couch is a terrible idea," he added.

"Mhm," she gave him a long look, narrowing her eyes at him. "You're right."

He opened his eyes in feigned surprise, but she shut him up with another kiss before he could even think of opening his mouth in retort.

He laughed when she pulled away and snuggled against his shoulder this time. "I'm right?" he inquired, voice shaking with the laughter in it.

She reached for their comforter, making a show of ignoring him as she tucked them in. "Good night, Andy," she told him, a note of both finality and humor in her tone.

He snickered and pulled his other arm out from underneath his head. He wrapped it around her as well, making her hum in contentment. Pressing a soft kiss into her hair, he mumbled, "Goodnight, Sharon."

* * *

 ** _That's all folks!_**

 ** _Thank you all for reading, following and reviewing these. You sure know how to keep one going! :)_**

 ** _I'll continue my series of episode add-ons, If Only the Episodes Were Longer, once 5b finally airs, so I'm definitely planning on writing more, but for now I guess that's it from me._**

 _ **Unless you have some prompts for me? Or there are episodes you'd like to read an add-on about that I haven't written already? ^^ *gives you a hopeful look***_

 ** _Anyways, once again, thank you so much! See you around! Stay awesome! :)_**


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